Thread of Damnation
by 20SilverBells
Summary: When an old Camp Campbell enemy escapes from police custody, a certain somebody decides to use the Hell Correspondence as a method of protection; not realizing that there is also a price. ( This fanfiction takes place in an alternate universe/timeline, and I think I'm the first one ever to create this Au. )
1. On the Run

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 1▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

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_This fanfiction takes place in an **alternate universe/timeline** due to certain plot elements, and characters from Camp Camp season four not lining up to what my story is going to be about; this story takes place in-between seasons three and four of Camp Camp._

Since this is my first ever full-length fanfiction of anything, the writing might suck, so I apologize.

-I think I'm the first one ever to create this Au.

•° ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ °•◇•° ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ °•

( This story is also on Wattpad under the username: 101LittleCutiePie as well as Archive Of Our Own under the username: Golden_Angel_Wings )

( I DON'T have this story on any other media, so don't even try to claim this story as your own, please and thank you. )

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_It said that life's encounters are governed by fate, tangled up in the threads of fate, are the ill-fated blossoms, pitiful and frail. Lost in anger, sorrow, and tears, beyond the veil of midnight, the retribution that you are helpless to reap shall be yours._

•°◇°•◇•°◇°•

It was a beautiful morning at Camp Campbell; the air was crisp, and the sky was blue. The Camp Campbell campers were inside the Mess Hall having their breakfast.

As Max was sitting alone at one of the picnic tables with a cup of black coffee in one of his hands, David walked over to him with his usual cheerful attitude.

"Hello there, Max!" Greeted David as he placed his fists on his sides.

Max glanced at the happy-go-lucky camp counselor with a deadpan expression.

"How're you doing this fine morning?" David asked while giving Max a warm smile.

As Max glared up at whom he considered his enemy, he took a sip of his black coffee; the warm beverage slid smoothly down his throat.

"Nothing new, I just feel like I'm in hell as usual," Max responded nonchalantly.

The warm smile on the camp counselor's face slowly faded away; replaced by a slight frown.

"How can you feel like that on such a beautiful morning?" David asked the cynical camper.

Max furrowed his eyebrows at David as he explained. "If you haven't noticed David, I don't exactly like it here. Sure, this fucking camp may have had a few decent days, but other than that, I still consider this place a hellhole."

As the auburn-haired camp counselor gazed at Max with an unreadable expression, Nikki suddenly sat down next to Max with a tray piled up with food. "Awww come on, Max, the camp's not **that** bad!" The turquoise-haired girl commented.

David smiled at Nikki's remark while Max gave her a deep scowl.

Nikki then gave a thoughtful expression as she thought about what she said. "I mean, yeah, we did have some..._bad_ days here, but at least the food's edible today!" She exclaimed as she propped her hands on the table.

With that, Nikki started to devour everything on her tray; some portions of food flew up in the air, and across the room causing Max, and David to express looks of slight disgust.

All of a sudden, Gwen came bursting through the Mess Hall doors; a look of sheer panic was present on her face. "**DAVID!**" She screamed hysterically.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to face Gwen; their facial expressions had a mixture of confusion, and shock due to Gwen's loud outburst.

David quickly made his way toward his co-counselor's side. "Gwen, what's wrong?" He asked, obviously concerned.

Without saying a single word, Gwen firmly grabbed David by the wrist and pulled him out of the Mess Hall; causing the auburn-haired man to shriek in surprise.

Besides for Max, Nikki, and Neil, the rest of the Camp Campbell campers, resumed what they were doing beforehand; not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on with Gwen, and David. "What the fuck was all that about?" Asked Max in utter confusion.

"I don't know," said Neil as he walked over to Max and Nikki's table; "but I think it was serious."

Max furrowed his brows at Neil. "Uh, yeah, no fucking shit Sherlock," He said in a somewhat snarky manner.

Nikki, who still had a mouthful of food, swallowed down whatever was remaining in her mouth before wiping at her chin clean. "I say we go over there and see what's going on!" She suggested.

"..Is that a good idea?" Neil asked; "It looked..kinda personal."

Max abruptly hopped off of his seat. "Well personal or not, I want to know what the fuck is going on with those two," With that, Max walked out of the Mess Hall.

Nikki and Neil followed Max soon after.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

When Gwen shoved David inside the Counselors' Cabin, the auburn-haired man nearly lost his footing. David then turned to face his co-counselor. "Gwen!" he exclaimed; "What's go-?" Gwen cut off the auburn-haired man mid-sentence as she hurried toward his side; she didn't bother to shut the door behind her. "S-shut up, and look at the fucking T.V. David!" She demanded.

David was slightly taken aback by Gwen's harsh tone, but despite that, he did what Gwen had told him to do. The news channel was playing on the T.V. _"-I repeat, crazy cult leader Daniel has escaped from police custody and is currently on the run. Please contact the authorities right away if you spot him anywhere, and be very cautious at all costs-"_

The world suddenly felt like it was going in slow motion as David's ocean green orbs grew wide in sheer terror; heart beating rapidly in his chest. He _escaped_. _Daniel_ escaped.

The same Daniel that brainwashed the entire Camp Campbell campers for a time, and tried to make them all drink poisoned Kool-Aid for a sacrifice. Daniel failed to achieve his plan when he accidentally drank his own poisoned concoction during a musical face-off he had with David, but the cult leader eventually returned to seek his revenge on David.

How Daniel chose to seek his revenge was by hurting David emotionally by toying with Max's emotions, and then murdering the cynical camper as David was forced to watch it all happen through a live-streamed T.V.

Max managed to escape and come to David's rescue, but Daniel caught up with them and tried to stab Max; David had to pounce on Daniel to prevent him from doing so.

After Daniel and David had a brief slap-fight with each other, Max shot a crossbow arrow at cans of expired chocolate milk-like drinks that were on a wall shelf over David, and Daniel; drenching them both in the sticky liquid.

Due to Daniel being lactose intolerant from all the poisoned Kool-Aid he drank over time, he fell over in agony as he had a lactose intolerant episode; giving Max, and David a chance to escape.

As David and Max locked Daniel in the bomb shelter, the cult leader vowed revenge on Max.

Daniel tried to dig out an escape route but failed to accomplish his goal due to the platypus biting down on his arm. The Camp Campbell crew thought this was the last of the crazy cult leader, but it seems that they were wrong, very wrong.

Max peered through the open cabin door before he, Nikki, and Neil walked inside.

"What the fuck is going on with you two?" Max asked the camp counselors in hostile confusion.

David and Gwen's bodies stiffened up when they heard Max's hostile voice.

"Are...you guys, okay?" Asked a worried Neil.

"Did somebody die?!" Asked Nikki hysterically.

The two camp counselors exchanged worrisome looks before turning to face the young trio.

David was the one who broke the news. "Kids, Daniel..uh, e-escaped."

The young trio's eyes grew in terror when they heard this.

"D-Daniel.._what?_" Asked Neil, obviously petrified.

Gwen sighed as she put a hand on David's shoulder. "He escaped Neil, Daniel escaped. The fucking bastard is out there, somewhere, probably on his way over here as we speak."

David gave Gwen a terrified look. "W-we don't know that for sure, Gwen! I-I d-don't think..h-he's probably not even coming over here!" He asserted to his co-counselor.

"I seriously doubt that, David." Commented Max as he gave David a doubtful gaze.

David gazed down at the cynical camper with the same terrified expression he gave Gwen.

Max stuffed his hands inside the kangaroo pocket of his blue hoodie as he continued. "The last thing Daniel said to me in that bomb shelter was that _'I'll pay for this'_..so yeah, he's fucking coming for us, or well, for _me_ at least."

David's terrified look only intensified after listening to every word that Max had to say.

David didn't want to believe that Daniel was coming after Max, but he had to, Daniel had already tried to kill Max before just to hurt David emotionally rather than physically.

The last thing David ever wanted was for Max to get hurt, and by this point, David was willing to try anything to protect Max.

...Even if it meant sacrificing himself in the process.


	2. Conversations

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 2▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Sometime later, Gwen and David were outside explaining the whole situation with Daniel to the rest of the other campers, but as they were doing so, Mr. Campbell spoke up. "Wait, wait, who the heck is Daniel?" He asked the two camp counselors.

David pressed his lips together as he gazed at Mr. Campbell. "He's-" the auburn-haired man was immediately cut off by Nurf; "Oh, he's this fucking crazy cultist who tried to get us to drink rat poisoned Kool-Aid after mind-fucking us into becoming his followers." The bully explained.

Space Kid joined the conversation. "He tried to seek his revenge on David when he came back like three weeks ago." He added in a very inappropriate cheerful manner.

"Yeah, he disguised himself as David and locked us all in the Mess Hall to kill Max as a way of revenge against David, and some shit," added Nurf; "who knows what he'll fucking plan next when or if he comes back to camp."

Mr. Campbell blinked once before clasping his hands together. "Well...I'm just...gonna go away for a while until all of you sort this out," the man took a slow step back; "Uuh, good luck."

With that, Mr. Campbell dashed toward the Camp Camp mobile. "Sir, wait!" exclaimed David; "What about your community service?!" Mr. Campbell continued to run as he shouted back; "I'll call my probation officer and come up with an excuse!" once Mr. Campbell arrived at the vehicle and got inside it, he madly drove away; leaving a cloud of dust behind.

As Gwen and David steadily walked toward the dirt tire tracks that were left behind, David spoke up. "I...probably shouldn't have left the keys in there."

Gwen made an annoyed sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You fucking think?"

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

A few minutes later, Max, Nikki, and Neil were outside by the Mess Hall; chatting about Daniel.

"I can't fuckin' believe he's on the loose!" Shouted Max as he briefly pulled at his curly black hair while pacing back and forth. "Yeah," chimed in Neil as he crossed his arms; "one of the last things I want to happen at this camp is another fuckin' Daniel incident."

Max abruptly ended his pacing as he faced his two friends. "I wish Daniel would just fuckin' go away _forever_, and _never_ come fuckin' back!" He exclaimed bitterly.

Nikki silently gazed at her two friends for a few seconds more before making a suggestion. "Well, you could try using the Hell Correspondence."

Max and Neil turned toward their turquoise-haired friend with utter confusion in their eyes. "What?" The two boys asked in unison.

Nikki gave a small smile. "Yeah, the Hell Correspondence, I read about it just before I left for camp, it's this Japanese website where you write down the name of the person that's tormenting you, and after pressing send somebody will appear to help you out, but it **_only_** works when midnight strikes!" She explained to her two friends.

Max and Neil glanced at each other briefly before gazing back at their turquoise-haired friend.

"Uh...I don't think that's a real thing, Nikki," Said a very skeptical Max.

"Yeah, this is probably just another one of those bogus online rumors," Dismissed Neil.

Nikki glanced at her two friends with slight hurt in her eyes as she made a frown; somewhat upset that they didn't believe her claim. Nikki then cast her froly colored eyes down at the dirt ground. "Well, it seemed genuine to _me_." She said in a slight mumble.

Max walked up to Nikki and placed a hand on one of her shoulders. "Here's a lesson for you, Nik, don't believe _everything_ you see on the internet," He advised her.

Nikki then furrowed her brows slightly as she brought her gaze back to her two friends. "I still believe that it's real!" She exclaimed; "I also read that there were reports of people going missing in Japan, and some say it was due to the Hell Correspondence!"

"Nikki, I'm pretty sure all of those missing people reports weren't due to this so-called Hell Correspondence." Stated Neil. "Yeah," chimed in Max as he retracted his hand from Nikki's shoulder; "people go missing every fucking day around the planet, it's how life is nowadays."

Nikki huffed before stomping away from the duo. "Fine! Don't believe me if you want to, but I know it's real!" She exclaimed as she continued to stomp away.

Max and Neil exchanged concerned looks with each other before running after Nikki.

"Nikki, don't fucking be like that!" Shouted Max.

"Yeah!" Chimed in Neil; "Come on Nikki-!" Unbeknownst to the trio, David had been quietly observing them from afar; eavesdropping on their _entire_ conversation.


	3. Outbursts

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 3▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Night fell at Camp Campbell a few hours later. Due to the whole situation with Daniel, the camp counselors had no choice, but to take extra precaution on the camper's safety as well as their own; until Daniel's caught by the cops everyone had to sleep in the Mess Hall together, and were absolutely forbidden from going out alone without David, or Gwen.

As everyone was getting settled for the night, Max, Neil, and Nikki were sitting by one of the corners of the Mess Hall, already in their sleeping bags.

"This is bullshit, why do I have to sleep in the Mess Hall with everyone else? I'm not some fucking two-year-old who needs supervision." Questioned an aggravated Max.

"Aww come on Max, this is just until the whole Daniel thing blows over," remarked Nikki; "besides, this is like a big sleepover!" She added ecstatically.

Max just gazed at Nikki with slight scorn in his mountain-meadow green eyes. "Nikki's right Max," interjected David as he sat down at one of the picnic tables not too far from the trio; "we can't risk any of you getting hurt...especially _you_, considering what you told me earlier."

Max gave the auburn-haired camp counselor a disdained look. "I can fucking handle myself if Daniel tries anything on me, David, I don't _always_ need you looking out for me." The cynical camper said, somewhat aggressively.

David made a somewhat stern expression toward Max. "Hey, now, I only want to make sure that you're safe and well, Max, you know that," He told the cynical camper.

Max scoffed at David's statement before giving him a deep scowl. "Yeah? Well, here's a newsflash for you David, I'm not some weak child who constantly needs a grown-up to look after, and protect them," he stated in an aggressive tone; "in fact, why should you even give a shit about me anyway?" He asked the auburn-haired man.

David's stern expression grew a little more intense when he heard what Max said. "Max," started David, his tone of voice was becoming more strict; "that's enough-"

Max cut off David. "No, I want to know why you give a shit about me, David. My _own_, parents don't give a shit about me, so why the fuck should _you_?!" He demanded in anger.

One by one, everyone started to gaze toward the scene that was unfolding before them.

"Because it's _my job_ to make sure that you're out of harm's way, Max!" The auburn-haired camp counselor exclaimed, louder than he intended to.

"_No_, it's not David!" Shouted Max.

"_Yes_, it is Max!" David shouted back.

Max's scowl intensified. "NO, IT'S NOT DAVID! YOU'RE _'_**_NOT__' _**MY FUCKING DAD!" He fired back.

The Mess Hall became dangerously silent as everyone looked at Max with very shocked and stunned expressions; besides for the harsh breathing Max was doing after yelling so loud, no one uttered a single word, but after a few seconds of silence, Nikki made an abrupt, awkward laugh. "_Hehehe...wow_! That, sure was awkward, am I right, anyone?" She asked while glancing around the room. No one paid any mind to Nikki.

David's shocked expression changed into a hurt one as he continued to stare at Max. No, he wasn't Max's father, but even so, David still cared for Max regardless, and can't help but worry for his well-being. After lingering in silence for a few seconds more, David finally spoke up. "You're right Max, I'm not your dad, but even so, I still care for you, and I want to make sure that you're safe no matter what." He said to Max halfheartedly.

By then, Max's harsh breathing ceased, and he now gazed up at David with an unreadable expression; not so sure how to feel at that moment, but after letting David's words sink in his mind, the cynical camper furrowed his brows slightly at the auburn-haired camp counselor.

"Fine...whatever David," Max said bitterly.

The cynical camper suddenly started to shift in his sleeping bag. "I'm going to bed now..goodnight I guess," He mumbled out as he got into a sleeping position he was comfortable with before closing his mountain-meadow green eyes.

David sighed softly. "...Goodnight, Max."


	4. Jigoku Shoujo

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 4▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Soft snores and quiet mumbles filled the Mess Hall as everyone slept soundly on the floor, well, everyone except for David.

The auburn-haired camp counselor couldn't bring himself to sleep soundly knowing that Daniel was out there, somewhere, completely unconfined, and could arrive at any minute.

David was sitting at one of the picnic tables as he scrolled through his phone; the light from the phone illuminated his slightly fatigued face.

The camp counselor was trying to see if there were any new updates on, Daniel, but unfortunately, there were none; though David did learn about a break-in at some clothing store, strangely no money was taken, only a few pairs of clothes.

David suddenly stopped scrolling through his phone and took the time to glance over at Max's sleeping frame; what he saw made his heart melt.

Max had a very serene look on his face as he softly breathed in, and out; in this rare moment, Max appeared to be very fragile, and vulnerable, just like any other young child.

A look of pure sympathy formed onto the camp counselor's face as he continued to watch the young camper sleep. Despite being very cynical for most of the time, David knew that Max was still just a kid; a ten-year-old who still had so much ahead of him, and has not yet lived a full life, but has already known far too early what a tough life is like due to his negligent parents.

Max didn't deserve to live that kind of life, and he didn't deserve to have his life put at risk.

David blamed himself that Max and everyone else was put in this situation with Daniel, if he hadn't hired Daniel in the first place, none of this would have ever occurred.

David gently closed his ocean green eyes in remorse as he let out a faint sigh.

_If Daniel's truly after Max, David wished there was a way to protect him 24/7._

The auburn-haired camp counselor quickly opened his ocean green eyes when he recalled what Nikki had said to Max and Neil earlier in the day.

"_Yeah, the Hell Correspondence, I read about it just before I left for camp, it's this Japanese website where you write down the name of the person that is tormenting you, and after pressing send __somebody will appear to help you out_-"

Just like Max and Neil, David had his doubts if this website was authentic, and he certainly didn't like the sites' title, but even so, David had to try something that might help protect Max.

...Because somebody fucking has to.

The auburn-haired camp counselor began to scroll through his phone once more; a look of slight determination was now present on his face.

David typed in **Hell Correspondence** in the search bar, before pressing the search button. After a short loading process, the link to the website popped up on the page.

David was hesitant to press the link at first, but after reassuring himself, he went ahead with it.

* * *

**Not Found**

The requested URL /kk was not found on this server.

* * *

hellish world/1.3.33 Server at Port 80

* * *

David blinked his ocean green eyes in confusion as he read the captions on the screen.

'Why wasn't the site here?' David wondered to himself; '...Maybe the site is region restricted?'

As the camp counselor considered that logical possibility, he suddenly recalled what Nikki had also said about the website. "-_it _**_only_**_ works when midnight strikes!_"

David glanced at the time on his phone; it read eleven fifty-nine PM, he would have to wait a little bit longer before he could access the website.

With a dull sigh, David began to wait patiently for midnight to strike.

After a few seconds passed by, David decided to glance back at Max's sleeping frame; as soon as David glanced at Max, a small smile appeared on the sleeping boy's face.

David's determination to protect Max only intensified after seeing the boy smile in his slumber.

"I'll find a way to keep you safe Max," whispered David; "I promise,"

As soon as David glanced back at the time, it changed to midnight.

When the page reloaded, it turned pitch-black as a tiny flame appeared in the middle of the screen; David gasped out softly as he observed what was happening.

After the tiny flame disappeared, a text box appeared along with Japanese captions that David obviously couldn't read on the phone screen. Without giving it much consideration, David began to type out Daniel's name in the text box, when he finished his thumb loomed dangerously over the send button for a few seconds before pressing it.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

In the realm of eternal twilight, Ai Enma; also known as Hell Girl, was sitting silently outside her home as she admired the red spider lilies that decorated her house.

Inside the small home, Ai's computer screen slowly lit up in bright crimson red as the Hell Girl fire symbol appeared on the screen as well. "Ai? You have a message." Said Ai's grandmother as she continued to spin her spinning wheel behind the Shōji door.

Ai stayed still for a few seconds more before turning her head to where she heard her grandma's voice. "I'll be right there.." She replied in her soft ghostly voice.

Ai slowly got up from where she was and made her way to her computer to check her message.

When Ai examined the request, she realized it wasn't anywhere in Japan, but in America.

Ai's ruby red eyes glistened with shock as she learned this, she hadn't received a request outside of Japan for many decades. It felt surreal to get one now after all this time.

"What's troubling you Ai?" Asked Ai's grandmother as she continuously spun her spinning wheel.

"...Grandma, I've received a request from America." Replied Ai as she continued to stare at the computer screen.

Ai's grandma abruptly halted her spinning, on her spinning wheel when she heard this. "...America, you say? My gracious, it's been such a long time since your last request came from America; most of these Westerners don't know about the Hell Correspondence," Ai's grandma resumed spinning her spinning wheel as she continued; "but whoever this person is, they must've discovered you from a source, and is desperate for your help."

As Ai listened to every word her grandma had to say, her ruby red eyes drooped slightly.

_'Desperate for her help?'_

Ai wondered if this person was up for the full price they must pay for asking for her..help.


	5. Summoned

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 5▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

David had his elbows propped onto the picnic table as he clasped his hands together; his lips were somewhat pressed against his hands as he stared into space.

"What am I doing?" David asked himself; "I can't just rely on some website to help me protect Max.." David sighed as he continued to speak to himself; "I need to find a realistic way to-"

Before the auburn-haired man could finish his sentence, his phone suddenly vibrated; it caught the camp counselor off-guard, but he picked up his phone to check it out nonetheless.

When David turned on his phone, his ocean green eyes grew slightly wide at what he saw; the phone screen glowed bright red as Japanese text appeared.

After the auburn-haired man lowered his phone, a mysterious crimson red light shone through the olive green curtains of the Mess Hall; making the whole room dimly illuminate in said color.

David let out a soft gasp as he jumped out of his seat; he couldn't believe what was happening.

The twenty-four-year-old then quickly made his way toward the Mess Hall doors to see what was going on outside, but as soon as he opened the doors, the auburn-haired man was no longer at Camp Campbell, but at an open field with a lake not too far away. The red twilight sky shone down on a dazed David as he cautiously scanned his new surroundings.

"Wha..? W-where am I? "Wha- where's the camp?" Questioned a very perplex David.

When David turned towards a lone tree in the middle of the field, he met the piercing ruby red eyes of Ai Enma; the counselor's ocean green eyes grew wide when he saw her.

"W-who are, you?" Asked David.

Ai remained silent for a few moments before responding. "..My name, is Ai Enma,"

"...Ai...Enma." David echoed softly.

"You summoned me...from the Hell Correspondence." Explained Ai.

David let out a nervous gasp. "I..i-it's real?" He asked softly, almost to himself.

Out of nowhere, demonic chuckles filled the red twilight air; the sudden laughter caused David to jump from fright, while Ai remained unfazed.

"Oh, it's as real as you and me," Said Ichimoku Ren, one of Ai's three companions as he suddenly materialized by the lone tree.

A startled David slowly backed away when he saw Ichimoku Ren materialize before him.

"...It's been around for the last four centuries." Added Hone-Onna as she materialized behind the Camp Campbell counselor.

David made a sharp gasp when he heard Hone-Onna behind him, as he turned around to face her, Wanyuudou materialized next to Ichimoku Ren before speaking up.

"...The Hell Correspondence came in other shapes and forms," started Wanyuudou; "back then, people would write the names of whom they hated on the back of our ema tablets, and leave it at a shrine at midnight," as David turned to Wanyuudou, his ocean green eyes were full of confusion; Wanyuudou made a soft, raspy chuckle; "if you don't know what ema is, they're these small wooden plaques where people can write things like, wishes."

When David said nothing, Wanyuudou went on. "When newspapers came along, it appeared in the three-column advertisements; only visible to those who had enough hatred in their hearts. After reading the address contained in the ad, you would then have to write the name of your tormentor on a piece of paper and post it to the link. Some years after that, people could access the link through a BBS built using BASIC, but once the internet became available, people could access the Hell Correspondence that way, and soon after that, the site adapted into a mobile version."

David gave Wanyuudou a dazed expression; he couldn't believe what he heard.

"...We were, actually quite surprised when we learned that our latest request came from America," said Hone-Onna; David turned to face her once more; "since most outsiders don't know about the link." She explained.

"Yet, _you_ somehow managed to discover it." Remarked a smirking Ichimoku Ren.

David turned to where Ichimoku Ren, Wanyuudou, and Ai were as he nervously explained himself. "I-I..N-Nikki, one of my campers, m-mentioned the website to her friends, I..I..just wanted to try something that might help protect M-Max from Daniel!"

Ai's ruby red eyes glistened with interest when she heard the last piece of information. "Is that what you want? To protect this, Max?" She asked David.

David gazed down at Ai as he responded. "Y-yes." Ai took a single step toward David; "..And why is that?" She asked coldly; "what lead this to happen exactly?"

Startled by Ai's cold demeanor, David began to fidget with his hands nervously. "It's...a long story." He responded quietly.

Ai blankly stared at the camp counselor for a few seconds before responding. "...There's time."


	6. Grievance

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 6▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

David stopped fidgeting with his hands as he cast his ocean green eyes down at the ground; he wasn't so sure if he should share his personal experiences with Daniel to the hellish group.

"...Your story would help us better understand your grievance." Wanyuudou told David; as if he could read the camp counselor's mind.

After releasing a soft sigh while briefly shutting his ocean green eyes, David returned his gaze to Wanyuudou, Ichimoku Ren, and Ai; ready to share his story with everyone. "...A-about a month ago I...unknowingly hired a deranged cult leader after Gwen, m-my co-counselor put a Help Wanted ad in the newspaper, h-he managed to brainwash the campers into becoming..uh, mindless followers for a time, and tried to have them drink poisoned Kool-Aid for a...sacrifice" David said this next part with regret in his voice; "I was, too naive to realize it at the time."

"...A sacrifice, for what exactly?" Ichimoku Ren asked David.

David bit down on his lower lip before responding. "...M-Max explained to me later on that Daniel was, really planning on sacrificing everyone to uh, a God of his religion named..._Xemüg_."

Hone-Onna sighed as she lightly shook her head. "...People's religions these days, I swear."

David continued with his story. "L-luckily Daniel failed to achieve his plan after he...drank his own poisoned concoction as him, and I had a...Camp Song sing-off with each other-"

Wanyuudou suddenly interrupted David's story with a soft raspy chuckle. "Why would this man drink his own, poisoned drink?" He asked the auburn-haired man.

"W-well...when Daniel and I were trying to one-up each other, Daniel got a little too caught up in the moment we were having," David explained.

Wanyuudou made a small smile as he gave David a single nod. "Ah."

"Wait, you had a.._sing-off_ with this guy?" Ichimoku Ren asked David.

David briefly rubbed the back of his neck as he made a shy look. "..I did, uh, it was my way of...trying to gain the upper hand...I-I played my guitar while he played his fiddle." He explained shyly; "If you ask me, he's only okay when he plays it."

"..Out of curiosity, what was your song duel about?" Wanyuudou asked intently.

David briefly pressed his lips softly together before responding to Wanyuudou's question. "..It was about which one of us was the better one."

Wanyuudou released another raspy chuckle. "That's, uh..._interesting._" He told David.

The twenty-four-year-old camp counselor briefly puffed out one of his cheeks before resuming his story. "..A-after Daniel was whisked away by an ambulance we haven't seen, or heard from him since..until he returned to exact his revenge on me for foiling his plan."

Hone-Onna put an index finger to her chin. "..How on earth did this man survive after accidentally poisoning himself?" She asked David.

David turned to face Hone-Onna. "..Daniel, built an immunity to the poisoned Kool-Aid since he..u-uses it for his sacrifices, but he became lactose intolerant as a result..M-Max told me so himself." He explained.

Hone-Onna gave David a single nod before removing her index finger from her chin. "I see, so this man practiced mithridatism."

David resumed his story once again. "When Daniel returned to Camp Campbell, he kidnapped me, posed as me, and had me tied up to a chair in the camp's bomb shelter, his..revenge plan on me was to...torture me emotionally by..toying with Max's emotions, and then..t-then.." David put a hand over his mouth as he started to tremble; he couldn't bring himself to say the next part.

"..Go on," Hone-Onna calmly urged David.

David removed his shaky hand from hand mouth as he forced himself to press on. ".._M-murdering_ him! A-as I...watched _helplessly_ through a live-streamed T.V.!" He exclaimed.

"..Did this Daniel manage to harm Max at all?" Wanyuudou Asked.

David turned to face Wanyuudou. "N-no...Max managed to escape, and come to my rescue, but Daniel caught up with us inside the bomb shelter and grabbed Max in a last-ditch effort to.." the auburn-haired man started to shake again, though it was brief; "t-to..s-stab him!"

"..What happened?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

"I-I had to pounce on Daniel to stop him...M-max got a crossbow and threating to shoot, b-but since Daniel looked so identical to me, and managed to sound exactly like me, Max couldn't tell which one of us was the real me, but when he saw that Daniel and me were standing under a wall shelf with stacked cans of chocolate dairy drinks, he shot an arrow at the cans instead-"

Wanyuudou finished David's sentence for him. "Because this Daniel fella would react badly to the dairy being splashed on him since he's lactose intolerant."

David gave a small nod as he gulped nervously. "Y-yeah, right."

"So, what happened next?" Ichimoku Ren asked.

"Uh...when Daniel fell over in agony after accidentally ingesting some..it gave, Max, and me a chance to escape and have him locked inside the bomb shelter, but as we were doing that D-Daniel...vowed revenge on M-Max."

"Was this man arrested by the police, or, did he manage to escape?" Hone-Onna asked David.

Instead of facing Hone-Onna when he replied, David brought his gaze to the ground. "Daniel tried to escape the bomb shelter by digging a way out, but our camp mascot bit down on his arm preventing him from doing so...h-he was arrested after that, b-but after only serving three weeks.." David returned his gaze to the hellish group as he said the next part; "h-he escaped! A-and is on his way to Camp Campbell right now!"

"...How can you be so sure he is?" Ai suddenly asked; her ice-cold demeanor never changed.

David brought his gaze toward Ai. "B-because he _vowed_ to come _after_ _Max!_"

"..And you're positive that this man will stick to his word?" Ai asked.

"Y-yes, I'm positive that Daniel will stick to his word! I-I can't just..turn a blind eye on what he said to Max, a-and I'll, be darned if he tries to hurt him!" David exclaimed.

Ai carefully studied David's current state. "You seem to care a lot for this, Max." She told David.

It was only then that David realized that his ocean green eyes were full of salty tears, and were threatening to overflow down his now burning cheeks; David rubbed his tear-filled eyes dry with his right forearm. "Yes, I do." He said bluntly.

Ai silently stared at the auburn-haired camp counselor for a few seconds, before glancing behind her. "..Wanyuudou." She eerily said.

"Yes, mistress." Said Wanyuudou, as he tossed his red scarf around his neck before vanishing.

When Ai gazed back at David, she held out one of her hands toward him with her palm facing up; mere moments later, a black straw doll with a scarlet thread tied around its neck manifested onto her palm. Even after everything David has heard and witnessed, this action still caught him completely off-guard. "Take this," Ai told David.

David very briefly bit down lightly at his lower lip, before taking a few hesitant steps towards Ai, and cautiously taking the straw doll from her palm.

Ai lowered her hand as she spoke to the camp counselor. "If you truly wish revenge, just untie the scarlet thread from his neck," David examined the eerie black straw doll in his hand; "pulling this thread will bind you into a covenant with me, immediate, and unbreakable." She explained.

"..I will ferry the soul of your tormentor straight into the depths of Hell." Added Ai.

The color instantly drained from David's face as he slowly brought his gaze back to Ai. _"You'll...wha-**WHAT?!**"_ He exclaimed.

Ai just gave David a casual nod as she explained again. "The soul of your tormentor will be ferried away to Hell once you pull the thread."

David nervously scanned the hellish group. "All...of you.."

Ichimoku Ren finished the auburn-haired man's sentence. "Send people to Hell?" He then produced a soft chuckle as he crossed his arms; "We sure do."

"As long as someone contacts the Hell Correspondence with a strong enough grudge in their heart, it is our job to avenge their grievance," explained Hone-Onna; "even if their hatred is ridiculous and meaningless."

"Do you..even wish to send this guy to Hell?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

David shook his head. "**N-NO!** I don't want to send Daniel t-to Hell!" He exclaimed.

"But don't you want to protect Max from this, man?" Ai asked the camp counselor.

David's grip on the black straw doll tightened as he looked at Ai directly in her ruby red eyes. _"O-of course I do!"_ He shouted; "B-but, but..."

"..But what?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

David's grip on the black straw doll loosened. "..**not**, not..like _this._" He said, almost in a whisper.

"If that's how you feel then, you can just give the doll back to our mistress." Said Hone-Onna.

David glanced back at the eerie black straw doll before trying to give it back to Ai.

Ai shook her head two times. "..I'll give you time to think about it." She told David.

David hesitantly retracted his gesture when Ai told him this. "...However, once vengeance has been served, you'll then have to deliver on your end of the bargain." Added Ai.

David's ocean green eyes filled up with confusion. "Wha-...my end?"

"..Curses come home to roost," Ai said coldly.

David steadily shook his head. "I..I don't..understand," He told Ai.

"...When you enter the covenant, your soul will _also_ belong to Hell when you die," Ai explained.

David's blood turned ice-cold throughout his veins as his ocean green eyes grew as wide as they can go, while the pupils turned small; his heart also felt like it had stopped beating.

"...You will never know the joys of heaven, your soul, will be left to wander through a world made of pain and agony, there to remain for all of eternity." Explained Ai.

All of a sudden, scorching hot flames surrounded the petrified David as demon-like hands clawed their way out of the ground, and grabbed ahold of David's skinny legs; causing the twenty-four-year-old camp counselor to release a bloodcurdling scream.

As David was being pulled down to the ground by the demon hands, he was suddenly back at Camp Campbell; completely unscathed, and on his knees outside of the Mess Hall.

David could hear some crickets chirping in the night as he tried to calm his nerves by softly breathing in, and out; his heart rate continued to beat at a fast pace inside his chest before it finally returned to a steady pace.

When David glanced down at the black straw doll in his hand, the night air blew up against his face, causing him to shiver slightly; the camp counselor could hear Ai's soft ghostly voice speak to him one last time.

**_"__..__And now, the decision rests with you__.__"_**


	7. H-Hell?

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 7▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Everyone inside the Mess Hall started to wake from their slumber as the sun rose over Camp Campbell a few hours later. As everyone yawned and stretched their bodies to wake up some more, David was seated at one of the picnic tables with a drained look on his face.

The auburn-haired man sat awake all night since he couldn't stop thinking about the 'late-night experience' he had with Ai; also known as Hell Girl.

As Nikki yawned while briefly rubbing at her froly colored eyes, she greeted Max and Neil as they slowly sat up from their sleeping bags. "Morning you guys,"

"Morning Nik," Greeted Max has he stretched his arms out; a small smile was present on his usually cynical face.

"What's gotten you in a good mood?" Asked Neil; "You're usually, well, you know, **_you_**."

Max turned to Neil; his small smile was still present on his face. "I uh, actually slept pretty well last night, kinda better, than any other night to tell you the truth." He explained to Neil.

"Speak for yourself," interjected Gwen as she walked toward the trio; "sleeping on this floor was fucking uncomfortable as hell." Gwen made her point as she pressed her hands behind her back; causing it to produce a small cracking sound.

When David heard Gwen use the word hell, it caused his skin to crawl; a look of sheer terror formed onto his face. "H-Hell!? W-who said anything about Hell?! I-is it even real?! W-we don't know!" Exclaimed David as he waved his hands around while chuckling nervously.

Max's smile disappeared when he saw the way David was acting. "What the fuck's wrong with you, idiot?" He asked; his face reverted to its usual cynical expression.

"Yeah..you don't sound like yourself, David.." Said a worried Neil.

"Maybe that's because..." Nikki made a loud gasp; "it's **_REALLY_**, DANIEL IN DISGUISE! JUST LIKE THE LAST TIME!" She accused while jumping out of her sleeping bag, and pointing a finger toward the auburn-haired camp counselor.

Everyone turned to look at David as if he was a convicted felon.

David put his hands up in a defensive manner. "W-wait! I'm not-"

Before the auburn-haired man could explain himself, Nikki suddenly dashed toward the back of the Mess Hall where the refrigerated food and drinks were and grabbed a gallon of milk.

When Nikki returned to the dining hall, she jumped on top of the picnic table David was sitting at; David was taken aback by Nikki's action. "STAND BACK, YOU GUYS!" Nikki then pointed a thumb to her chest; "**_I_ **GOT THIS!" With that, Nikki twisted the milk jug cap off, and threw it behind her head which bounced off of Neil's forehead causing him to flinch, before splashing the dairy product all over David's face; the camp counselor's face was drenched in the dairy as it dripped onto his clothes as well as the table, and floor.

When David didn't react badly to the milk, everyone realized that it was the real David.

"...Oh, it's _really_, you David," Nikki then gave an awkward laugh as she rubbed the back of her head; "sorry about that." She told the auburn-haired man.

"It's...all right, Nikki," David told the turquoise-haired Campbell camper as he rubbed his hands all over his milk-drenched face; when he removed his hands from his face, he saw Gwen walking over to him with a rag in one of her hands.

"I've..never heard you use the word 'hell' before David," said Gwen as David took the rag from her hand, and used it to clean his face; "it's..kinda weird to hear you use it," She added.

David lowered the now milk-stained rag from his face. "...I'm sorry it's just, this whole situation with Daniel is, really stressing me out." He said as he rubbed at his temples; rag still in his hand.

The auburn-haired camp counselor knew in his heart that he couldn't share his experience with Ai to the others; if he did, he knew it would lead to the possible outcomes, everyone would worry for him, they would possibly check out this site for themselves, or they wouldn't believe him. David didn't want two of those three things to become a reality.

"You shouldn't worry about it too much, David," advised Gwen as she put a hand on one of his shoulders; "it's not good for you." David steadily nodded his head as he glanced down at the table; "Y-yeah, y-you're..right." He said quietly.

Gwen removed her hand from David's shoulder as she clasped her hands together. "All right, kids, put your sleeping bags away, and since it's Saturday, you can do whatever you want as long as you stay close to me, and David," Gwen said.

Nikki lowered the milk jug onto the picnic table's surface as she hopped off it. "Can't we have breakfast _first_, and _then_ put our sleeping bags away?" She asked before rubbing her hands all over her tummy. "I'm _starving!_" Nikki remarked.

Gwen put a hand to her hip as she shook her head. "_No_, you kids can have breakfast _after_ you put your sleeping bags away." She told the turquoise-haired girl.

Nikki made an exaggerated groaned as she threw her head back. "Uugh, fine." She mumbled.

As Nikki walked back to her sleeping bag, the rest of the Campbell campers got out of their own, sleeping bags and started to roll them up like a burrito.

Unbeknownst to everyone, outside, sitting atop of the Mess Hall roof was Ai Enma; as she stared into space, her long black hair blew smoothly in the wind.


	8. Hellish Anxiety

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 8▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

After breakfast was over, the Camp Campbell campers headed outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air; just as the campers left the Mess Hall, Gwen stopped and turned back to David, who was still sitting at the picnic table.

The auburn-haired camp counselor was gazing down at the picnic table as he lightly traced a finger over the little cracks on the wooden surface; his face was leaning on his other hand.

"Aren't you coming too, David?" Asked Gwen.

David stopped what he was doing and gazed up at Gwen; a small smile formed on his face. "N-no I'm, just going to stay here for a while..." He told his co-counselor.

"..Alrighty then." Said Gwen as she walked out of the Mess Hall to keep an eye out on the kids.

When the Mess Hall doors closed, David's small smile slowly faded away as he lowered the hand that was resting his face, he then closed his ocean green eyes as he let out a soft sigh.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

Meanwhile, outside, Max, Neil, and Nikki were sitting on the grass as they talked about Daniel.

"So, do you guys, really think that Daniel will come back to camp?" Nikki asked her two friends.

Neil nervously rubbed at his hands as he gave his response. "_M-maybe?_ I don't know."

Nikki gave Neil a single nod before turning toward Max. "What do you think, Max?" She asked.

The cynical camper glanced at his turquoise-haired friend for a brief moment, before gazing down at the ground. "...I think he's coming back here," Neil and Nikki brought their full attention on Max as he continued; "probably today, probably tomorrow, or probably when we'll least expect it...and when the fucking bastard does come he might-" Max halted what he was gonna say next.

"He...might what?" Asked Neil.

Max's gaze never left the ground. "I...I don't want to talk about it," He replied.

Nikki frowned at Max's response. "Come on, Max, you can tell us," she said.

"Yeah come on, dude," chimed Neil; "we're your friends,"

Max placed his hands inside his, blue hoodie's kangaroo pocket, as he let out a long sigh. "I think, Daniel might try to kill me if, or when he gets here," The cynical camper said in solemn.

Neil and Nikki's eyes widened when they heard what Max had to say.

"Y-you don't, know that for sure," Said a concerned Neil; Nikki nodded her head in agreement.

Max finally returned his gaze to his two friends as he furrowed his mountain-meadow green eyes at them. "Don't you two remember what I said yesterday?" He asked in a slightly hostile tone; before Neil or Nikki could answer, Max went on. "I said that Daniel told me that _'I'll pay for this'_ so that means that, he's probably going to fucking kill my ass or some shit."

Nikki and Neil glanced at each other worriedly before gazing back at their cynical friend.

"Well...if Daniel _does_ come back to camp, Neil and I will try what we can to make sure that he doesn't hurt you." Said Nikki as she put a hand on Max's shoulder while giving him a small smile.

Max didn't smile when he glanced at Nikki; instead, he gave out a mumbled reply. "...Thanks."

Slight tension filled the atmosphere around the trio as they sat in silence; after a few moments, Neil finally broke the silence. "...You know what he should do if Daniel comes back?" He asked.

Max and Nikki brought their gaze toward Neil. "..What?" Asked Max.

"We should do that thing Nikki did to David earlier, you know, get gallons of milk and splash it all over Daniel as a defense method," Neil suggested.

When what Nikki did to David earlier in the morning was brought up, Max, Nikki, and Neil started to snicker. "...Yeah, maybe," Said Max; the trio eventually stopped their snickering after a while.

"...Speaking of milk.." Nikki finally removed her hand from Max's shoulder as she looked down at both of her sides. "where's my juice box?" She asked.

"..Uh, Nikki, milk, and juice aren't the same things," Remarked Neil.

Nikki completely ignored Neil as she came to a realization. "Aw man, I left it in the Mess Hall," the turquoise-haired girl brought her gaze toward Max; "Max, go get it for me." She demanded.

Max furrowed his brows at Nikki. "Why the fuck should I go get it?" He asked in a hostile tone.

Nikki furrowed her eyebrows back at Max. "'Cause the last time I asked you to get my juice box you said no cause you said on quote _'I've already done something nice this week'_," Nikki made air quotes as she said it; "and since you haven't done anything nice yet this week, you _have_ to do it." She explained to her cynical friend.

Max rolled his mountain-meadow green eyes as he removed his hands from his blue hoodie's kangaroo pocket to push himself off of the ground. "**_Ugh_**, fucking _fine._" He groaned as he got up and headed towards the Mess Hall.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

David's face was full of uneasiness as he gazed down at the black straw doll in his hand; his thumb lightly caressed against the smooth black straw stems as he gently bit at his lower lip for a few seconds.

"..._Please_, don't let it come to this," David whispered to himself; "I..." his thumb stopped creasing the black straw stems as his grip on the doll tightened slightly; "I don't want to have to do this,"

When David heard one of the doors to the Mess Hall creak open, he quickly glanced up before swiftly stuffing the black straw doll back in his interior vest pocket; after the auburn-haired man saw that it was Max who had walked in, he gave the young boy a small smile.

"Hi Max," greeted David; "what are you doing back here? Did you need something?"

Max gave David a deadpan look as he replied. "I'm just here to get Nikki's juice box."

David's smile remained on his face as he gave Max a small nod. "It's right over there," He said in a gentle tone as he pointed at the direction where Nikki's juice box was.

The cynical ten-year-old glanced at where David was pointing before gazing back at the happy-go-lucky man with a slight scowl. "I wasn't fucking asking you where it was, moron," He said in a very harsh tone as he made his way toward the juice box.

David lowered his hand gesture as his small smile turned into a slight frown. "Language,"

After Max grabbed Nikki's juice box off of the picnic table, he glared at David as he gave him a snarky remark. "Suck a dick, camp man,"

"_Max_..." David said in a warning tone, but before the camp counselor could say anymore, Max flipped him the bird and briskly walked out of the Mess Hall; as David briefly shook his head to himself with disapprobation over Max's actions, Gwen pushed the Mess Hall doors open and gazed over at her fellow camp counselor.

"What is it, Gwen?" Asked David.

"David, Nurf is terrorizing Preston and Harrison with one of his fucking pocket knives again, you need to come out here and help me." The dark red-haired camp counselor explained.

Loud shrieks belonging to Preston and Harrison emitted from behind Gwen soon after; David produced a small whine as he winced before he got up from his seat and walked out with Gwen.

Unbeknownst to David and Gwen, up above the ceiling was a large projection of a light olive-colored eye; when the eye was done observing everything, it closed and faded away.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

Hone-Onna and Ichimoku Ren were loitering deep within the forest of Camp Campbell; Ichimoku Ren had his right light olive-colored eye closed since he was using it to spy on David, but when he was done spying on the camp counselor, he opened his eye back up.

"So, that kid was the Max this guy was talking about," said Ichimoku Ren as he crossed his arms while leaning against one of the forest's pine trees; "man, he sure does have a foul mouth,"

"And he seems like quite a handful too," commented Hone-Onna; "actually all of these kids seem like a handful," Hone-Onna then heaved out a long sigh; "I can't even imagine what it's like having to deal with these kids 24/7 for three months."

Ichimoku Ren made a slight smirk as he gave a remark. "I bet putting up with these kids is a living Hell," A brief chuckle was produced by Ichimoku Ren soon after.

Hone-Onna rolled her light brown colored eyes at Ichimokuren's ironic comment. "Oh, geez..."

All of a sudden, there was rustling coming from the bushes in front of Hone-Onna and Ichimoku Ren. As the two gazed over at the rustling bushes in puzzlement, the camp's platypus mascot popped out right in front of them. "Muack!"

Ichimoku Ren leaned forward slightly as he stared at the platypus. "Eh...What the..?"

"Is..that a.._platypus_?" Asked Hone-Onna as she took a single step toward the aquatic mammal; "Aren't those things only native in Australia?"

Ichimoku Ren leaned back as he responded to Hone-Onna's question. "Uh, I...think so...?"

After gazing up at Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna with disinterest, the platypus abruptly waddled away; Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna watched as the platypus waddled off to who knows where.

"...What a strange creature." Said Hone-Onna half-heartedly.


	9. Are You Okay-?

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 9▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

A few days have passed by, and there were no signs of Daniel anywhere at Camp Campbell, but despite that, David, Gwen, and the campers still had to sleep together in the Mess Hall, whenever anyone had to use the bathhouse David or Gwen had to stay close to them just to make sure that they were safe; even David couldn't go anywhere too far by himself because everyone was paranoid that Daniel would do something to David, and possibly pose as him again; Nikki even started a habit where she would regularly threaten the auburn-haired camp counselor with some milk whenever she thought he was acting suspiciously.

David prayed to God that Daniel would be caught by the cops soon so that this whole ordeal would be over; which was kind of ironic since he possessed a straw doll that was associated with Hell inside his interior vest pocket. When no one was in hearing range, the auburn-haired camp counselor would hope aloud that he wouldn't have to use the straw doll in the end, but every time he did it, Ai would silently watch him without his, or anyone else's knowledge.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

It was a Friday night at Camp Campbell; everyone was inside the Mess Hall eating their dinner the Quartermaster made before they turned in for the night; tonight's dinner was small ribeye steak, mashed potatoes, canned corn, and canned peas.

Gwen had her amethyst colored eyes cast down at her slightly charred ribeye steak as she repeatedly poked at it with her fork; she stopped to gaze up at David; the auburn-haired camp counselor had his arms folded on top of the picnic table as he stared through the window next to him; thinking about whatever was on his mind.

David didn't have any food with him whatsoever, which kind of concerned Gwen because she began to notice that for the past few days, David seemed to have a lack of appetite.

"Are you okay, David?" Gwen asked; voice filled with genuine concern; "I'm starting to notice that you..haven't been eating as much as you should, are you sick or something?"

David slowly brought his gaze to his co-counselor as he gave her a weak smile. "I'm not sick Gwen, I'm..._okay_, really I am." He assured.

Gwen gave her fellow camp counselor an unconvinced look.

David's weak smile disappeared from his face when he saw the way Gwen was looking at him. "Look, Gwen, I'm sorry that I'm worrying you, it's just..." he paused for a few moments before letting out a sigh; "I can't really, think about eating with this whole situation going on."

The dark red-haired camp counselor set her fork down onto the picnic table next to her food; the eating utensil produced a light clink when it gently hit against the wooden surface. "Are you talking about Daniel?" She asked David.

David pressed his lips together before giving Gwen a small nod. "Y-yes, I am..." It wasn't a total lie, but David failed to mention that Hell Girl was also the reason why he lacked an appetite.

"Don't worry, David, the cops will arrest Daniel's fucking ass soon enough," Gwen said.

The auburn-haired camp counselor glanced down at the table before gazing back up at his co-counselor. "..I hope so, I don't want to see anyone get hurt," he then glanced at the far corner where Max was sitting with his friends; "especially Max, if Daniel, really is...after him I...want to do what I can to make sure that he's safe."

Gwen pondered over David's words for a bit before giving him a gentle smile. "Do you, really care that much for, the little shit?" She asked.

David softly smiled back at Gwen as he responded. "Of course I do, sure he can be stubborn and hard to talk to, but I know that he's a good kid deep down, even though he rarely shows it."

•°◇°•

As Nikki continued to eat her dinner, she noticed something outside the window next to Max at the corner of her eye. When Nikki gazed out the window, she saw a pale-skinned young girl with long, straight black hair, and ruby red eyes; unbeknownst to her, it was Ai Enma.

When Nikki saw Ai, her grip onto her fork loosened and fell onto the floor with a dull clunking sound; Max and Neil turned toward Nikki when they heard her drop her dinner utensil; they then noticed that Nikki had a slightly startled expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Nikki?" Asked Neil.

Nikki brought her gaze toward her two friends as she pointed a finger toward the window where she saw Ai. "Guys, I see a girl standing outside the window next to Max." She explained.

Max raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What the fuck do you mean a girl?" He asked.

"Just look!" Exclaimed Nikki as she exaggerated her pointing gesture.

David and Gwen halted their conversation when they heard Nikki shouting; they turned toward where they heard Nikki before instinctively getting up from their seats to see what was going on.

Max and Neil turned toward the window to see what Nikki was pointing at; they didn't see anyone there. "..Nikki, there's no one there." Said Neil as he gazed back at her.

Nikki lowered her hand gesture as she looked for herself, Neil was right, there wasn't anyone there. "But...she was right there!" She shouted.

"What's all the hullabaloo?" Asked David as he and Gwen made it to the trio's table.

Max turned towards David as he gazed up at him. "Nikki thinks she saw someone," He explained.

David and Gwen's eyes widened slightly. "Are you, talking about Daniel?" Asked a worried Gwen.

Max gazed over at Gwen as he shook his head. "No, Nikki thought she saw a girl." He said.

Nikki turned to gaze up at Gwen. "I did see a girl," she formed an 'okay' gesture on both of her hands and placed them over her froly colored eyes; "she had these red eyes," Nikki stopped making the 'okay' gesture on her hands as she moved them away from her face to briefly, play at her pigtails; "and long black hair!" She explained.

Nobody noticed David flinching with he heard Nikki's description of what she saw; he was ninety-nine percent sure he knew what Nikki had seen; Ai Enma.

Max brought his gaze toward Nikki as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Nikki, you're probably just seeing shit," the cynical camper then stared down at his food as he used his fork to poke at it; "maybe it's because of the fucking food."

Gwen put a hand to her hip as she walked up behind Neil. "Max is probably right Nikki," the dark red-haired camp counselor suddenly reached a hand over Neil's mashed potatoes, what she did next grossed out everyone, she pulled out a gross looking hair. "the food is pretty shitty."

"O-oh god, I think I'm going to be fucking sick." Said Neil as he started to gag out of disgust.

Max and Nikki pushed their food trays forward as they briefly exchanged disgusted looks.

"Yeeeah, I think you guys are right," agreed Nikki; "but it looked **_so_** real though,"

David finally spoke up after all this time. "W-well, that's what..hallucinations will do to you, they'll make you believe that something is there, while really, there's..not." He then gave a tight smile when he finished.

Gwen was still holding the hair she pulled out of Neil's potatoes as she looked back at it with disgust. "Welp, I'm gonna go, uh..throw this in the trash, and then wash my hands." She said as she started to walk off in the opposite direction.

As David, Max, Neil, and Nikki watch Gwen walk away, Nikki spoke up. "You know, I wonder where that hair came from." She innocently wondered aloud.

Neil started to gag from disgust once more, causing Nikki, Max, and David to gaze at him with concern. "...I **don't** want to fucking know.." Said Neil, on the verge of throwing up.


	10. The Nightmare

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 10▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Later that night as everyone slept soundly on the Mess Hall floor, Max awoke from his slumber with a low groan. He needed to go to the bathhouse to use the restroom, but he didn't want to wake Gwen or especially David up to tell them that as if he was two-years-old.

It was humiliating enough that the other campers had to have Gwen and David escort them to the bathhouse as if they were toddlers, Max didn't want to condone that kind of humiliation upon himself any longer. Even though it was for everyone's safety, Max knew how to defend himself; he wasn't like any other kids.

After deciding that he wanted to take the trip to the bathhouse solo, Max slid out of his sleeping bag and tip-toed toward the Mess Hall doors. When Max reached his destination, he grabbed ahold of one of the door handles and gently pulled at it to open the door, but when Max heard someone mumbling, he froze like he was a deer in headlights; the ten-year-old then glanced over his shoulder to see who was mumbling.

It turns out it was just David listing names of plant life in his sleep again as he held his "morning wood" close to his side. "...Elm, **_*_**_snore_**_*_**, Juniper, **_*_**_snore_**_*_**, Pine-"

Max made an annoyed glare at David before rolling, his mountain meadow green eyes to himself and turning his attention back toward the door as he continued to open it.

When the door was opened wide enough for the cynical ten-year-old to slip through, he quietly crept through the entrance before cautiously pulling the door shut behind him.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

After Max was done using the urinal, he pulled down its handle to flush it before zipping up his fly; since Max was one of the shorter campers, he had to use a stepping stool for the urinals as well as the sinks; much to his annoyance. Max hopped off of the stepping stool, before dragging it across the dirty tile flooring and placed it in front of one of the sinks.

The cynical camper stepped on top of the stepping stool before leaning over to twist the single faucet handle on; when the lukewarm water started to flow down into the sink, Max leaned in further to pump out some soap from the wall-mount soap dispenser before leaning back to wash his hands.

The lukewarm water felt soothing against Max's small hands despite the indoor plumbing being subpar. When Max was done washing his hands twenty seconds later, he reached over the sink and twisted the faucet handle to stop the water from flowing.

The cynical ten-year-old then reached for a paper towel from the paper towel dispenser to dry his hands; when Max was done using the now damp paper towel, he crumpled it up as he stepped off of the stepping stool.

Max nonchalantly threw the used paper towel into the trash bin as he pulled the door to the bathhouse open and walked out, Max didn't get too far away from the bathhouse when he heard something rustling in the bushes not too far away from him, causing him to stop and turn around to see what it was.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

Back inside the Mess Hall, as everyone continued to sleep, David was still blissfully stating the names of random bushes and trees in his slumber. "-**_*_**_snore_**_*_**, Cedar, **_*_**_snore_**_*_**, Oak.." But the auburn-haired camp counselor suddenly halted his rambling as he began to toss and turn in his sleep while lightly clenching his eyes; a small frown also appeared on David's face.

•°◇°•

_David was standing in the middle of a dark void; a light illuminating above him was the only source of light the auburn-haired man had. "H-hello? I-is anyone there?" He weakly asked as he cautiously scanned his surroundings._

_After David slowly twirled around, a dark chuckle abruptly emitted twenty-feet in front of him; causing the camp counselor to flinch in terror. "Who's...t-there?" He anxiously asked._

_All of a sudden, scorching hot flames barricaded, David, though the auburn-haired camp counselor wasn't tightly enclosed, he had about twenty-feet of walking space available. __David was so startled from the sudden ignition of the flames, that he fell backward, and landed hard on his posterior; the fall caused him to wince briefly in pain._

_Daniel suddenly walked through the scorching flames in front of, David unscathed, and clothes uncharred; his hands were behind his back as he looked down at David with a broad smile; Daniel stopped walking toward David when he was five-feet apart from him.__ "Why, hello there, David," Daniel greeted in a mocking tone as he made a low chuckle; "it's..been a while."_

_Small beads of sweat started to form onto David's temple due to the blazing flames that surrounded him, and the blonde-haired cult leader; fear was visibly present in David's ocean green eyes as he gazed up at Daniel. "D-Daniel? Wha...what are," David gulped; "w-why are you..here?" He asked in a very anxious tone._

_Daniel's broad smile slowly turned into an evil smirk. "why, to exact my revenge, of course," the cultist then kneeled to meet David's level; "you and Max have thwarted my plans for salvation," as Daniel rose from his kneeled position he added; "you two can't get away with it without any form of punishment."_

_With that, Daniel stepped to the right as the flames behind him began to slowly part; revealing a very scarred Max to the now very concerned David; the ten-year-old camper's hands and feet were bound together with rope, while his mouth was mouth bound with duct tape._

_"Max!" David exclaimed before he stood up from the ground to sprint toward his camper's side, but David only made it a few feet when demon-like hands manifested behind him and grabbed ahold of his ankles, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud as he let out a loud yelp._

_"Now, now, David, you mustn't intervene on what I'm about to do next." Said Daniel as he walked passed the camp counselor, and headed toward the bound up Max; the cult leader no longer had his hands behind his back._

_"W-wha..what are you planning to do?" David asked as he gazed up at Daniel with full concern._

_When Daniel walked up to Max's side, the cult leader turned around to face David. "...This." Before David could question what Daniel meant, the cult leader grabbed ahold on one of Max's shoulders and pulled out his sacrificial knife._

_When David saw what the cult leader was about to do to Max, salty tears began to form in his ocean green eyes; the auburn-haired camp counselor then tried helplessly to pry the demon-like hands off of his ankles; unfortunately, he failed to do so._

_"_**_DON'T__! __PLEASE__!_**_" Begged David as he gazed up at the blonde-haired cult leader with pleading eyes; the salty tears leaked down David's cheeks._

_Just as Daniel rose the knife above his head to fatally stab Max, the blazing hot flames began to engulf David; causing him to shriek in pain as his skin began to become redded and charred._

°•◇•°

David awoke from his nightmare in a cold sweat as he abruptly sat up from his sleeping bag while heavily breathing in, and out.

The twenty-four-year-old camp counselor placed a trembling hand to his chest to feel his racing heart; he thought his heart would burst out of his chest.

In the back of David's mind, he wondered if his nightmare was predicting what was to come with Daniel and Max; he hoped that wasn't true.

When David's heart started to beat at a steady pace, he removed his hand from his chest as his coarse breathing began to cease as well.

The auburn-haired man sat in silence for a few seconds, before turning to gaze at a supposedly sleeping Max.

David knew that the sight of the young camper sleeping safe and sound would help calm his nerves even more; but when David saw that Max's sleeping bag was empty, the blood drained from his face.

_If Max's not in his sleeping bag, then where was he?_

As David's heart started to race once more, he quickly got out of his sleeping bag to look for Max; the camp counselor searched everywhere in the Mess Hall, but when he couldn't find the cynical camper anywhere inside the building David rushed outside; the auburn-haired man frantically scanned his surroundings as he called for Max. "MAX?! MAX, WHERE ARE YOU?!"


	11. The Clock's Ticking

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 11▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Gwen awoke from her slumber when she heard noise coming from outside; due to her loss of sleep, the dark red-haired camp counselor groaned in slight annoyance, as she briefly rubbed at her amethyst colored eyes.

Gwen leaned in next to David's sleeping bag to ask if he had heard the noise coming from outside, but when she realized that the auburn-haired man wasn't in his sleeping bag, she was wide awake now; _where was he?_

After briefly scanning the Mess Hall from where she was, Gwen got out of her sleeping bag to investigate outside for David; immediately after Gwen walked out into the summer night, she saw a frantic David scanning the area around him.

"...David? What the fuck is going on?" Gwen asked, concerned.

Panic was still present on David's face as he turned to face his co-counselor. "Gwen, Max is gone! He's _gone_, and I-I can't find him!" He frantically explained. "I..I-I think Daniel has him!" Salty tears started to form in David's ocean green eyes; the tears threaten to fall down his now slightly warm cheeks.

Gwen widened her amethyst colored eyes in panic when she heard this; despite Gwen thinking of Max as a little shit, she was genuinely concerned for Max's safety and well being.

"You..w-we need to call the sheriff!" Gwen Suggested.

David rubbed the salty tears away with his hands as he nodded his head. "Y-you're right." The auburn-haired camp counselor placed a hand inside his brown vest to grab his phone from one of the interior pockets. But as David grabbed his phone, his hand brushed up against the black straw doll causing him to stiffen up; he almost forgot about it.

Gwen noticed David tense up a little. "What's wrong?" She asked.

As David snapped out of it, he pulled his phone out of his brown vest and handed it to Gwen. "Nothing's wrong, Gwen, uh..listen, _you_ stay here with the rest of the campers, and call the sheriff while I keep searching for Max, alright?"

Gwen glanced down at David's phone before gazing back at David; a little suspicious over his brief change of demeanor. "David, are you really...**you?**" She asked.

David frowned. "I'm the real David, Gwen, _honest._" He said.

Gwen wasn't convinced. "..Tell me something only the real David would know." She demanded.

David glanced at the ground, as he pondered on what to say before gazing back up at Gwen with a warm smile. "You and I are Counselor Buddies For Life. CBFL." He said wholeheartedly.

Gwen smiled at David as she sighed in relief. "Oh, thank fucking God it's, really you, David,"

David warmly smiled at Gwen for a few more seconds before his smile disappeared. "So, as I was saying...you stay here and call the sheriff, while I keep searching for Max, alright?"

The dark red-haired camp counselor's smile faltered as well as she gave David a gentle nod of approval. "Alright, just..be **_careful_**_,_ okay?" She warned.

David gave Gwen a small nod as a form of promise, before running off to search for Max.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

David searched in random locations of the campground for Max, but he couldn't find him anywhere; after a while, David was forced to halt his search in, order to catch his breath due to running around without taking the proper time to rest.

As the auburn-haired camp counselor dropped to his knees while hyperventilating, he thought about the black straw doll inside his brown vest that Ai gave him; her ghostly words to him began to play in his head.

**_"__If you truly wish revenge, just untie the scarlet thread from his neck, the soul of your tormentor will be ferried away to Hell once you pull the thread.__"_**

David flinched and cringed, as Ai's words continued to play in his head.

**_"__When you enter the covenant, your soul will also belong to Hell when you die. You will never know the joys of heaven, your soul, will be left to wander through a world made of pain and agony, there to remain for all of eternity.__"_**

Even though David hoped and prayed to God that he wouldn't have to use the straw doll on Daniel in the end, he realized he might not have a choice.

Daniel could be hurting Max right now, and David wasn't there to protect him; if he just used the black straw doll right now, he could be saving Max's life.

It didn't matter to David that his soul would also go to Hell when he died; it was for Max's safety, and that's all that matters to him.

After the auburn-haired camp counselor's hyperventilating turned into steady breathes, he straightened his posture, and slowly placed a hand inside his brown vest; as soon as his fingertips brushed up against the black straw doll, he heard someone behind him.


	12. A Cup of Heartache

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 12▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

"...David?"

David removed his hand from inside his brown vest as he swiftly turned on his knees to face the person behind him; it was Max, not too far away from his side was the platypus.

"Oh, Max," David gasped on the verge of tears as he grabbed Max into a big bear hug, much to the boy's dismay. "You're okay," He whispered.

Max ripped himself out of David's grip; he could tell it was the real David due to how the man was acting with him. "Of course I'm okay, idiot," Max said with scorn.

David made an unexpectedly stern gaze at Max. "Where were you?!" He shouted.

Max was slightly taken aback by the camp counselor's demeanor, but after a few seconds, he made a deadpan expression. "I was using the bathroom," he began to explain before motioning to the platypus; "I would've been back sooner, but the platypus distracted me when it jumped out of the bushes with a fucking dead bird in its mouth before it swallowed the bird whole,"

As if on cue, the platypus regurgitated a feather to confirm Max's claim, causing David and Max cringed at the platypus's action, before she waddled away from the duo.

When the platypus was no longer in sight, David grabbed ahold of Max's shoulders; causing Max to look up at the camp counselor. "Max, how come you didn't tell me, or Gwen you had to use the bathroom?" asked David; "You know better than to wander alone as long as Daniel is out-"

Max pushed David's large hands off of his small shoulders. "I already told you, David, I know how to take care of myself, I'm not a fucking baby." He said with bitterness in his voice.

David made a frown. "Max, you're still at an age where you need someone to look after you-"

Max furrowed his brows as he made a deep scowl. "I don't fucking need anyone looking after me, David, I never have." He told David in an angry tone.

David made a concerned expression. "Wha..what do you mean you never have?" He asked.

The cynical camper gazed down at the ground as he turned his head away from David. "It's none of your fucking business." He replied bitterly.

"Max..._please_, just tell me," David quietly pleaded; "I..I want to know what you meant when you said that you never needed anyone."

After standing in silence for a while, Max took a deep breath and released it as a long sigh before turning to face David once more. "You want to know so damn bad? Fine, I'll fucking tell you." the ten-year-old backed away from David a little bit; "You know how my parent's don't care at all?" He asked; the bitterness was still in his voice.

David knew that Max was referring to his parent's neglect. "..Yes, I do." He replied solemnly.

"..Well, not only do they not give a shit about me, but they also _never told me_ _to my face_ that they loved me," Max began to explain; "they never hugged me, _not_ even once, or shit like that. I had to learn how to take care of myself ever since I could fucking walk because **_nobody_** was there for me to make sure that I was growing up healthy. Every single time my parents looked at me, they only ever saw me as a nuisance, _'_**_NOT__'_** as their fucking child!" When Max was finished explaining, salty tears began to well up in his mountain-meadow green eyes before he quickly wiped them away with his arms and shoulders.

"..Oh, Max," pure sympathy was now present on David's face; the auburn-haired man knew about the neglect that Max was receiving from his parents after Parents' Day, but David didn't think that Max's parents were that neglectful toward him. "I'm, _so_ sorry-"

Max cut David off. "Fuck your sorry, David! I **don't need** your fucking pity!" He angerly exclaimed before walking back to the Mess Hall; David quietly got up from the ground to follow Max.

Unbeknownst to David and Max, Ichimoku Ren's eye projection was on one of the forest trees, watching the quarrel that played out. After the auburn-haired camp counselor and the ten-year-old camper were no longer in sight, Ichimoku Ren's eye projection closed and faded away.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

When Ichimoku Ren opened his right light olive-colored eye after he was done using his eye projection, he and Hone-Onna started to have a conversation; Ai wasn't too far away from her two companions. "..Wow, I _did not_ expect that kind of drama." Said Ichimoku Ren.

Hone-Onna released a sympathetic sigh as she spoke up. "...That poor boy, growing up in a household where he wasn't properly loved or nurtured."

"...Even so, why does our client David care for this kid so much?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

Hone-Onna turned to gaze at Ichimoku Ren with confusion. "Eh?"

Ichimoku Ren gazed back at Hone-Onna as he began to explain. "l mean, do you see how Max treats this guy? He practically hates him, so why would David go to Hell for him?"

Hone-Onna turned away from Ichimoku Ren as she pondered for a bit before she gave her response. "..I can't say for sure, but I think this man sees something in the boy that we don't."

Ai Enma was staring into space while Hone-Onna and Ichimoku Ren chatted, but when Ai heard something rustling in the bushes next to her, she turned to look at what was causing it; the camp's platypus mascot crawled out of the bushes, and waddling up to Ai; Hone-Onna and Ichimoku Ren noticed the creature waddling up to their mistress.

"Eh? It's that platypus again." Said Hone-Onna.

"Muack!" Ai crouched down to get a closer look at the platypus.

When the platypus lightly brushed up against Ai's legs, she began to pet the aquatic mammal; causing the platypus to emit a soft purring noise as she closed her black eyes in bliss.

"I think it likes you miss," Commented Ichimoku Ren.

Ai said nothing as she continued to pet the purring platypus.


	13. Cause and Effect

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 13▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

By the time David and Max neared the Mess Hall, the sheriff was already there; while he was talking to Gwen, the red and blue lights of his police cruiser flickered in the night.

Max turned to David with an annoyed scowl. "You called the fucking police?" He bitterly asked.

David furrowed his auburn colored brows at Max as he placed his fists on his hips. "For the record, Gwen did while I looked for you. I thought that Daniel _had you_, Max, we had to call the sheriff in case, Gwen and I couldn't find you." He said, in a slightly stern manner.

Before Max could say anything, he heard Neil and Nikki calling out to him as they ran to his side.

"Max!" Exclaimed Nikki and Neil; "Are you okay?" Nikki asked; "Where were you?"

"Yeah!" chimed in Neil; "We heard Gwen on the phone with the sheriff, and when we asked her about it, she said that you were missing and David went looking for you."

Max turned to face his two friends. "I'm okay, guys," he then briefly pointed a thumb behind him; "I just had to go to the bathhouse to take a piss." He bluntly explained.

"Dude, why didn't you have Gwen or David take you?" Neil asked.

Max looked at Neil with a deadpan expression. "Like I already said, I don't need somebody looking after me. I can take care of myself." He said in annoyance.

"..But Max, it's not safe for us to go out alone, as long as Daniel is still out there." Neil objected.

Max just rolled his, mountain meadow green eyes as a response to Neil's statement.

Nikki glanced at her two friends before gazing up at David. "...Speaking of, Daniel," Nikki then curled an index finger toward David; "hey, _David_, can you come over here, please?" She asked.

It was only then that Max noticed that Nikki was holding something behind her back.

"What is it, Nikki?" David asked as he walked over to Nikki before kneeling to her level.

Without explaining herself, Nikki pulled a small carton of milk from behind her back, opened it up, and splashed the dairy directly in David's ocean green eyes. "Hyah!" She exclaimed.

David made a high-pitched shriek as he stood up from his knelt position, and stumbling backward for a bit before falling into a bush while rubbing at his now redden eyes, which began to develop a burning sensation.

Neil and Max watched the whole display with their mouths slightly agape from surprise.

Nikki pointed an index finger toward David, while still holding the now empty carton of milk in her hand. "Ah-ha! I **knew** Daniel switched places with David when David went looking for you, Max!" She exclaimed as she glanced at her two friends; "Didn't you guys see how he acted when I slashed the milk on him?" She asked.

Max gazed at his turquoise-haired friend with a deadpan expression. "That's because you threw the milk in his fucking_ eyes_, Nikki, and besides, if that was Daniel disguised as David, I know that he would have already killed me or something when we were alone together." He explained.

Nikki turned to face Max; she wasn't convinced that David was the real David, and not Daniel. "Maybe he was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike!" she exclaimed; "I'll believe that he's the real David when he says something that **only** the real David would say." She said before throwing the empty milk carton behind her back.

As the auburn-haired camp counselor continued to rub at his still slightly reddened eyes with his hands, he felt something bounce off of his forehead; he gasped from the impact before removing his hands away from his face to glance at what had hit him; it was Nikki's milk carton.

"..N-no littering please, thank you," David casually said as he blinked his irritated ocean green eyes several times, before going back to rubbing at them.

When Max, Neil, and Nikki heard what David said, Nikki turned toward him before placing her hands on her hips while smiling and making a single nod of approval. "Okay, that's our David alright, Daniel doesn't care about littering," Nikki paused for a moment before making a quizzical expression; "or does he?" she then turned back toward her two friends; "_Does_, Daniel, care about littering?" She asked while briefly tilting her head slightly to the right.

Max made an uninterested look as he responded to Nikki's question. "I don't give a fuck if he does, or not," he then started to walk toward the Mess Hall; "come on, let's go tell everyone that I'm okay before they lose their shit even more."

As Neil and Nikki started to follow Max, David called out to them, but it fell on deaf ears. "H-hey, wait-" He was still rubbing at his ocean green eyes, but not as excessively as before; David tried to get up from where he was, but he stumbled right back down in the bush.

•°◇°•

Gwen and the Sheriff's conversation about the situation halted when they saw Max, Neil, and Nikki approaching them. Gwen was glad to see that Max was okay, but her glare toward him didn't show it. "Max, where the in the hell were you?" She asked. Max looked up at the dark red-haired camp counselor with a scowl on his face; having grown tired of explaining to everyone where he was whenever they asked. "I left to take a fucking piss." He bluntly responded.

Gwen pointed an index finger at the cynical ten-year-old boy, as she continued to glare at him. "Listen to me you little shit, don't you ever sneak off like that again, got it?" She warned.

Max rolled his mountain-meadow green eyes at Gwen as he gave his reply. "Whatever, bitch."

Gwen's glare turned into an angry expression as she took a single step toward Max with threatening hand gestures. "Why you-" before Gwen could say and do anything more, the sheriff intervened by placing a hand on one of Gwen's shoulders.

"Alright, alright, there's no need for you to hurt the boy," there was a pause; "unless you want me to arrest you for Misdemeanor Assault on a minor." Gwen lowered her hands as she sighed; her angry expression was no longer on her face. "Okay, I get it, Sal."

When Nikki turned toward Sal, she noticed that he had a newly equipped gun holster belt around his waist. "When did you start wearing a gun holster, Sal?" She asked with interest.

Sal removed his hand from Gwen's shoulder before he turned toward Nikki, and kneeled to her level while briefly pointing an index finger toward his gun holster. "I got this when I first heard about that Daniel guy escaping if I see him anywhere, I'll be ready for him." He explained.

Gwen suddenly realized that David wasn't with the trio. "Wait, where's David?" She asked.

Max, Nikki, and Neil glanced around them. "Didn't he follow us?" Asked Neil; Nikki turned toward Neil; "I think he's still stuck in that bush." She stated.

Gwen was confused. "Wait. what?"

Max looked up at Gwen as he began to explain. "Nikki thought that David was Daniel, so she threw milk in his eyes, and it caused him to fall in a bush."

"..Well, where exactly did you kids leave him?" Gwen asked.

"Uh.." Max turned around to face the direction that he, Nikki, and Neil came from; when Max spotted David, he briefly pointed toward him; "he's over there." He replied.

Everyone gazed at the direction that Max pointed at, and sure enough, spotted David; the auburn-haired camp counselor finally stopped rubbing at his ocean green eyes, which no longer had their reddish hue as he tried to get up from the bush.

Gwen released a small sigh; "..I guess I'll go help him." but before she could walk a few steps toward David, Max stopped her; "Wait," Max then took a single step forward before he squinted his mountain meadow green eyes; "do any of you see that?" He asked.

"See what?" Asked Nikki as she walked up to Max.

"Uh.." Max stopped squinting; "I can't tell what the fuck it is, but..it's right behind David."

Everyone quickly gazed behind David to see what Max was talking about, and sure enough, saw something. "...What the hell is that?" Asked Gwen; her question was, answered when the mysterious figure stepped out into the moonlight.

What everyone saw caused their eyes to grow wide from shock, as their mouths hung agape.

"Holy shit," Max uttered.

"David!" Exclaimed Neil; "Watch out!" Nikki added. David didn't have time to react to Nikki and Neil's yelling when someone suddenly duct-taped his mouth, before violently pulling his wrists behind his back and binding them together with the duct-tape as well.

When David gazed behind him to see who was doing this to him, the pupils in his ocean green eyes began to shrink, as his heart began to beat what felt like a million beats per second.

"Hello there, David," a dark chuckle emitted; "It's been a while."


	14. Confronting the Devil

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 14▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Daniel yanked David out of the bush, before dragging him deep into the forest; they soon disappeared into the darkness.

"Holy fucking shit!" Exclaimed a very startled Neil.

"Kids, inside the Mess Hall, **now!**" Demanded Gwen.

As Nikki and Neil began to retreat inside the Mess Hall, Max quickly walked up to Sal, and snatched his gun from his gun holster before dashing into the forest after Daniel; because Sal was still kneeling after Nikki asked about his new gun holster, it was easy for the ten-year-old to grab the gun. "Hey! Wait!" Shouted Sal, as he finally stood up from his knelt position.

Nikki and Neil stopped dead in their tracks and turned to see what Sal was yelling about; when they saw Max running into the forest with Sal's gun, panic appeared on their faces.

"Max!" Shouted Neil and Nikki, as they began to run after him, but Gwen stopped them by grabbing ahold of the neckline from their shirts; they tried to fight out of her tight grip, but it was no use. Sal ran to his police cruiser and pulled out a walkie talkie. "I need back up-!"

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

As Max continued to run after Daniel, he nearly stumbled a few times due to not being able to fully see what lies on the ground in front of him because of the nighttime.

"How the fuck did that maniac get so far ahead of me?" Max asked himself in annoyance; "David's practically dead weight, so he should've slowed Daniel down.." after running for a while, Max abruptly stopped in his tracks; "Shit, where the hell did he go?" he asked himself as he scanned his surroundings.

When Max turned toward his right, a breeze blew up against him and continued to blow in said direction Max was looking at; for some reason, Max had a feeling that he needed to head that way to find David and Daniel, and so he did; as Max continued to run, Ai Enma watched him among the darkness and forest trees until he was out of sight.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

David tried desperately to free himself from Daniel's grasp, but he failed miserably. "Now, don't be difficult with me, David." Said Daniel as he continued to drag David along the ground. When the cult leader neared a cliffside, David tried to ask what he was going to do to him, but due to the duct-tape over his mouth, it came out as loud mumbling.

When Daniel neared a tree closest to the cliffside, he knelt and sat David up against it before pulling out the duct-tape, and binding his feet together; just as Daniel finished, he heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him. "Stop what you're doing right now, motherfucker, and put your hands up where I can see them, or I'll shoot!"

Daniel stood up from where he was, as he raised both of his hands; duct-tape still in hand; as the cult leader turned around to face Max, he made a shit-eating grin. "Hello there, _Max_," when Daniel said Max's name, his voice dripped in venom; "did you miss me?" He sarcastically asked.

Max gritted his teeth as he continued to point the gun at Daniel. "Fuck you."

"Oh, you did not miss me at all?" Daniel made a fake sad face; "That hurts Max-"

Max took a single step forward. "Shut up, just shut the fuck up, and tell me why you took David!" He demanded. Daniel once again made his shit-eating grin as he began circling the cynical ten-year-old Campbell Camper with his hands still raised in the air; Max continued to point the gun at Daniel, as he followed the cultist's every move.

"Oh, Max, isn't it obvious? David was merely a pawn into luring you out here _all alone._" Daniel explained. Max gave Daniel a death glare. "...The fuck do you mean?" He asked.

As Daniel continued to circle Max as a predator does to his prey, he made a low chuckle before cracking his neck to the side. "It's just how it sounds, Max," as Max continued to give Daniel a death glare, the cultist went on; "when you, unfortunately, defeated me the last time we saw each other I knew I had to get you back, though as much as I wanted to go after you the moment I broke out of jail, I knew that I had to go into hiding for a few days until it was clear to make my move, but then I thought it wouldn't be that much fun if I just took you," Daniel used his free hand to snap his fingers; "like that, so I decided to abduct dear David over there as well to make it more fun for me since I knew you would immediately come to his rescue without even thinking about bringing back up with you, due to you being more concerned for the safety of whom you consider a father figure than the safety of your own."

Max snarled slightly at Daniel. "I **don't** think of David as a father figure."

Daniel made another low chuckle. "I beg to differ, Max, I saw and heard that little conversation you had with David about how your parents never cared for you as parents should," he admitted, Max's death glare eased into a small scowl; "you act like you loathe David with all your heart, but in truth, you secretly care for him because he's the first-ever adult to show you real kindness."

Max briefly clenched his jaw. "..You, heard...and saw **_all_** of that shit?" He bitterly asked.

Daniel cracked his neck once again. "Sure did!" He cheerfully exclaimed.

"..Why didn't you just attack David and me back then?" Max asked; "Seemed like the perfect moment for you to set your stupid plan into motion."

Daniel eerily tilted his head to the side. "I wanted to listen to the rest of what your home life is like, and I'll admit, I somewhat pitied you when I saw you starting to cry-" the cultist was cut-off when Max cocked his gun; the Camp Campbell camper never broke eye contact with Daniel.

"I don't wanna hear another word from your goddamn mouth and stop fucking circling me, or else I'm putting a bullet through your skull!" Max exclaimed.

When Daniel finally stopped circling Max, he was blocking the only path that leads out of the cliffside; all of the shrubs and trees made it difficult to create an alternative route.

Daniel cracked his neck into a straight position. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Max's finger brushed up against the trigger._ "Why the hell not?"_ Max bitterly asked.

"Because if you did, you would be taken away to a youth detention center, also known as a prison for underaged felons," Daniel explained; Max's grip on the gun tightened as Daniel went on; "They'll make you wear this awful looking prison jumpsuit as I did; you know the day that I escaped I had to rob a clothing store in order to get a change of clothes," Daniel admitted; "do you have any idea what it was like for me to wear orange?" He asked; "It's such an awful color-"

"I don't give a shit on how you feel about the color orange," snarled Max. "now get down on your goddamn knees!" He demanded; instead of doing what Max said, the blonde-haired cult leader suddenly released his hold of the duct-tape; the duct-tape created a thud when it hit the ground below. Due to Max being caught off-guard by the action that Daniel made, he briefly broke eye contact to glance at the now discarded duct-tape, hower with Max distracted, it gave Daniel the chance to knock the gun out of Max's hand; the gun flew into the air for a brief moment before sliding across the ground, and falling off the cliffside; loss in the darkness.

Daniel tried to grab Max, but the ten-year-old managed to dodge the capture before quickly sprinting up toward the bound David; when Max made it to David's side he began to fumble with his duct-tape bound wrists, but Daniel harshly grabbed him by the hood and hoisted him up at eye-level as he started to walk away from David; a crazed smile was present on his face.

"Come now, Max, be a good boy and-" Out of nowhere, Max spat at Daniel squarely in the face, causing the blonde-haired cultist to drop him to the ground to rub at his face as he dropped to his knees; Daniel's crazed smile instantly faded away, replaced by a clenched jaw.

Max tried to head back to the still-bound David, but Daniel grabbed ahold of one of Max's ankles, causing the Camp Campbell camper to fall on his stomach; as the two engaged in a violent struggle with each other, David began to wriggle his bound wrists to try and free himself.

Because Max started to loosen the duct-tape around David's wrist before he was stopped by the crazed, cultist it made it easy for the auburn-haired man to slip out of the restraints before he unbound the duct tape around his feet and pulled the duct-tape off, of his mouth; the camp counselor stumbled to get off of the ground for a brief moment before he sprinted toward Daniel and Max. The blonde cult leader managed to forcefully pin Max down to the ground, causing the ten-year-old to struggle under his weight to try and free himself.

"Get the fuck off of me, you maniac!" shouted Max; "Sorry, Max, but I can't-" before the blonde-haired cult leader could finish his sentence, David pounced on him; freeing Max in the process.

The ten-year-old camper sat up from the ground as he watched David and Daniel engage in a brawl with each other; David surprisingly threw a punch at Daniel, but the cultist grabbed onto David's fist before it could hit his face. "Why David, who knew you had such spark in you," Commented Daniel before he retaliated a punch at David; when Daniel's fist collided with the auburn-haired man's jaw, he fell to the ground in pain; "I'm impressed," the cultist added.

As David grabbed onto his now stinging jaw while tightly clenching his ocean green eyes shut, Daniel began to kick David violently in the stomach so that he would be in too much pain to stop him from hurting Max; after blankly staring at the two adults in horror for a few seconds more, Max got up from the ground and picked up a large stick before running toward Daniel.

When the cynical camper approached Daniel from behind, he swung the stick toward the man's legs to disable him, but Daniel abruptly turned around and grabbed hold of the large stick before it could hit his legs. "That was a good try, Max," remarked Daniel as he snatched the stick from Max's grip; "but not good enough," without warning Daniel struck Max with the large stick, causing him to get hurled violently up against a tree.

When Max hit the tree, he also ended up violently hitting his head, causing him to fall into unconsciousness as he fell limp to the ground; the head injury he sustained from the blow slowly started to bleed, though the blood wasn't excessive.

Daniel threw the stick out of sight before he slowly started to make his way toward the now unconscious Max, but David suddenly got up from where he was and dragged the cult leader down to the ground; the two adults rolled around the ground for a bit before Daniel managed to get on top of David and started to punch him a few times in the face. A few bruises, as well as a black eye, began appearing on David's face.

Daniel then got up from David and started to once again, kick him hard in the stomach, but this time he was also kicking him in the chest; the twenty-four-year-old camp counselor released cries of agony as Daniel continued to abuse him; after the seventeenth kick, you could hear a sickening crack inside David's chest. Eventually, the cultist ceased his abuse on David.

"I'm so sorry to have to do this to you, David," started Daniel as he made a creepy smile down at the badly battered camp counselor; "but I can't have you getting in the way."

David suddenly began to cough weakly, but as he did, some blood droplets escaped his mouth. "P-p-please, Da-Daniel," pleaded David, his voice was low and weak; "D-don't..hu-hurt Ma-Max,"

Daniel made a sickening chuckle. "I can't do that David, like you, Max got in the way of achieving my plans for ascension, so I have to teach him a lesson, and that lesson is killing him!"

As David's breath caught in his throat when he heard what Daniel said, the blonde-haired man started to walk back toward the still unconscious Max; David tried to get up from the ground to stop Daniel, but he fell back down with a whimper due to being in so much pain.

When the auburn-haired camp counselor gazed up at Daniel helplessly, his vision started to blur due to the trauma he went through, but the twenty-four-year-old still managed to notice the deranged man pull out his sacrificial knife; ready to kill Max, David knew that if he didn't do something right now, Max would die, so after solemnly closing his ocean green eyes for a brief moment, David reached a hand inside his vest and pulled out the black straw doll.

Just then, over his blurry vision, the auburn-haired man noticed beams of light coming far down the only clear pathway out of the cliffside, when David's vision focused for a few seconds, he realized that the source was coming from flashlights; meaning that people were coming this way, unbeknownst to David, those people were the backup deputies that Sal called over.

For a brief moment, David thought that he wouldn't have to go through what he was about to do, but when he gazed back at Daniel, the twenty-four-year-old knew that the approaching group wouldn't make it to Max in time. The crazy cult leader was now straddling on the vulnerable Max; knife held high above his head as he expressed a big, crazed grin.

"...So long, _Max,_" Daniel said darkly.

Salty tears started to stream down David's bruised cheeks as his heart suddenly began to make irregular beats. _"I-I'm s-so-r-r-y,"_ the camp counselor uttered weakly; his voice became cracked and high-pitched; _"I-I'm **s-so so**..s-s-sorry!"_

With that, David tightly clenched his ocean green eyes shut, and grabbed ahold of the scarlet thread tied around the black straw doll's neck. As Max slowly started to regain consciousness, while the approaching footsteps of the deputies became louder, David untied the scarlet thread.


	15. This is Vengeance

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 15▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind blew up against the very injured David as the black straw doll abruptly flew out of his grasp, and vanished in the air.

**_"Your grievance has been heard."_**

When the deputies approached the scene, one of them shone their flashlight over Daniel, but as soon as the light hit the blonde-haired man, he disappeared before their very eyes; his sacrificial knife dropped right next to Max's side as he finally opened up his mountain meadow green eyes.

The deputies were genuinely dumbfounded at what they just witnessed.

As Max slowly sat up from where he was, he noticed Daniel's knife at his side. "...Wha-what the..fuck happened?" Max asked as he placed a hand, to his injured forehead; voice groggy.

Suddenly the sun began to rise as David hesitantly opened his ocean green eyes to gaze down at the scarlet thread that was resting on his open palm before it got blown away by the breeze.

Just as some of the deputies made their way toward Max while the others made their way toward David, the camp counselor's vision suddenly turned black as his body went limp.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

In the realm of eternal Twilight, Ai Enma was bathing in the stream of water outside the back of her house; this was a ritualistic purification process she does before taking someone to Hell.

"Ai, I've prepared your nagajuban." Called out Ai's grandmother.

After Ai was done brushing her fingers through her wet black hair, she stood up from the water.

"Thank you, grandma." Thanked Ai.

After Ai stepped out of the water and walked up the small stairs of the wooden pier, she bent down to grab her nagajuban; a few drops of stream water gently fell on the white silk fabric.

When Ai was done putting her nagajuban on, she went inside her small house to put on her black kimono with moving floral patterns.

After that, Ai used one of her hands to flip her hair before setting out to do her duty.

•°◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇•°•◇°•°◇°•

When Daniel finally awoke, he found his whole body restrained to a sacrificial dais. "...Wha-what's going on here?" the cultist asked, bewildered.

All of a sudden, a rubber tube was forced down Daniel's throat, causing him to gag as he thrashed around in his restraints; when Daniel looked to see who was doing this to him, his aquamarine blue colored eyes grew wide at what he saw; skeletons dressed in white attire.

As one of the skeletons connected a large metal funnel to the other end of the tube, some others were at a table pouring rat poison and whole milk into a big bowl.

When the skeletons were done mixing the rat poisoned milk, they walked toward Daniel and slowly poured the laced dairy down into the metal funnel; the blonde-haired man began to scream through the tube as he once again thrashed in his restraints; salty tears started to slide down his cheeks while his stomach began to bloat slightly due to the substance filling up in his body. "You must ascend to the next level, Daniel." Said one of the skeletons.

"It's what Xemüg wants." Added another skeleton.

After all of the milk was poured down the tube and into Daniel's throat, the skeletons pulled the rubber conveyance out of the cult leader's throat, causing him to violently cough and gag.

Wanyuudou, Ichimoku Ren, and Hone-Onna suddenly manifested by Daniel's bound feet.

"So, have you learned your lesson yet?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

The cult leader weakly gazed up at the hellish group as he continued to gag.

"Not only have you sacrificed dozens of people for some God, but you also tormented a young man and child just because they stopped you from achieving your plans." Said Hone-Onna.

Daniel immediately knew that Hone-Onna was referring to David and Max.

"..Th-they ha-had it com-coming to t-them!" shouted Daniel angrily as he continued to gag; "tho-those two did everything in their power to stop me from creating ascension! I-I had to punish them for their actions! X-Xemüg is the true Ultralord that will give us all eternal salvation! I w-will do anything t-to prove that! E-even i-if it means k-killing those w-who are in the way!"

After a few moments of silence, Wanyuudou spoke up. "So he says, Miss."

Suddenly, Xemüg appeared above Daniel as a large head; when he opened his mouth, Ai Enma slowly floated out of it. "O pitiful shadow bound in darkness, looking down upon people, and causing them pain...a hollow soul drowning in sins.."

As Daniel's pupils shrank from fright, Ai delivered her final line. _"Want to try dying this once?"_

With that, Ai then raised her right arm; the floral designs in her kimono washed over Daniel.

•°○°•○•°▪︎◇▪︎°•○•°○°•

When Daniel awoke once again, he was now laying in a ferry-boat; Ai was rowing the boat.

"Wha..why am I on a boat?" Asked the blonde-haired cult leader, as he slowly sat up from the boat to scan his new surroundings; he then turned toward Ai. "W-who are you?" He asked.

"...I am Ai Enma," Responded Ai as she continued to row her boat on the Sanzu River.

"..Wh-where are-" Before Daniel could finish his sentence, he began to cough violently, until he regurgitated the milk he was force-fed earlier; Ai Enma wasn't fazed at all as the cultist continued to regurgitate up the dairy. Daniel was now sitting in a large puddle of the ejected matter when he ceased his vomiting. "O-oh, God," cried Daniel.

"..Such an ironic statement," Remarked Ai.

Before Daniel could ask what Ai meant, the puddle of regurgitated milk, suddenly turned into Kool-Aid; demonic-like hands abruptly stretched out of the Kool-Aid and grabbed ahold of the now petrified cultist; their sharp claws tore through Daniel's clothes and skin.

"Wh-why is this happening to me?!" Screamed Daniel as his heart started to beat faster.

Ai gazed down at Daniel coldly. "...As I told someone a few days ago who looks just like you, curses come home to roost." When Daniel heard this, his aquamarine blue eyes grew wide.

As the ferry-boat neared the torii, Ai made one last remark. "I consign this grievance to Hell..."


	16. The Aftermath

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 16▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

The rest of the Camp Campbell campers were awake at that point as one of the backup deputies talked to Gwen and Sal about what had happened to Daniel; while the Campbell campers engaged in conversations with one another, the other backup deputies took away what they could find at the scene in individual plastic bags; Daniel's knife, and his duct-tape.

"What the fuck do you mean he just disappeared?" Gwen asked one of the deputies that she and Sal were talking to; "...He got away?" Sal asked.

The deputy shook his head as he explained. "No, he just _literally_ disappeared, you know," the deputy suddenly made an exploding gesture with his hands; "**_poof_**, as if he got turned into dust."

Gwen and Sal couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"But that's..that's fucking impossible," Gwen said.

"I know it is," Said the deputy as he lowered one of his hands to his side while he used the other to scratch behind his ear. "I'm having a hard time believing it myself."

While Gwen and Sal continued to talk to the deputy, Max was being treated by a female paramedic for the injury he sustained when he got knocked into a tree by Daniel; Neil and Nikki were right by his side.

"Are you okay now, sweetie?" The female paramedic asked when she was done bandaging a gauze pad on Max's forehead.

"..Yeah," Max solemnly replied as he watched the other paramedics load David into the back of the ambulance; "I'm okay."

The female paramedic followed Max's gaze; when she saw what Max was looking at, she turned back to him with a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your friend hun, but once we get him to the hospital, he'll be all better." She promised.

When Max didn't say anything as he brought his gaze down to the ground, the female paramedic stood up from her crouched position and walked back towards the ambulance; once all of the paramedics were inside the vehicle, they drove away.

"Are you..sure you're okay, Max?" Asked a concerned Neil.

As Max slowly turned to bring his gaze up toward his two friends, he shifted his hands inside the kangaroo pocket of his blue hoodie. "..I..I'm just..worried...about David." He said quietly.

"You..you **are?**" Neil and Nikki asked in unison, completely shocked.

As a response, Max made a single nod.

"_Wow_, I never thought that **_'YOU'_** of all people would be worried about, David!" Exclaimed Nikki.

Max rolled his mountain meadow green eyes at, Nikki's remark.

"Yeah," chimed in Neil; "remember when you tried to kill him that one time?" He asked.

Max knew that Neil was referring to the time he built a Rube Goldberg machine to kill David, but it ended up hitting the camp's old mascot Larry the hamster instead.

"Of course I fucking remember that." Responded Max, almost in a mumble.

"...So..how come you're worried about David if you hate him so much?" Asked Nikki.

When the morning breeze suddenly blew softly up against Max's face, he slowly closed his, mountain meadow green eyes as a response to the breeze.

"..Max?" Nikki called out softly.

After the breeze stopped blowing up against Max's face, the ten-year-old slowly opened his, mountain meadow green eyes back up. "..I...I don't hate him." Max replied softly.

"You..." started Nikki, but Neil finished her question; "You don't?" As Max shook his head, his curly black hair gently swayed from side to side; "No, I don't...he's just annoying sometimes."

"Well, if he's just annoying to you, why did you try to kill him that one time?" Asked Nikki.

Max briefly pinched the bridge of his nose. "I..it's complicated to explain, okay?" Before Neil or Nikki could give a response, Gwen and Sal walked up toward the cynical camper.

"Max listen, this is important," started Gwen; "did you see what happened to Daniel?" She asked.

The cynical ten-year-old turned to gaze up at his second camp counselor. "In case you've forgotten, Gwen, I got fucking _knocked out_, meaning I saw jack shit." He harshly replied.

Gwen sighed. "I know, we just wanted to make sure." She said.

"...what..did happen to Daniel anyway?" Neil wondered aloud with worry in his voice.

Sal and Gwen exchanged a look before gazing down at Neil. "One of my deputies just informed us that he saw that Daniel fella disappearing into thin air." Replied Sal.

_"What?"_ The camp trio asked in unison, dumbfounded.

"..But..but that's impossible!" exclaimed Neil; "As a man of science, I know for a fact that people don't just fucking disappear into thin air!" He declared; Max turned toward Neil; "Well, with what goes on at this shitty camp, I say it's fucking possible." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.

After a few moments of silence, Sal spoke up. "Well...I better," Sal used one of his thumbs to point behind his back; "get my deputies together, and head out to report this case close..."

"..Do you think other people will believe what happened to Daniel?" Asked Nikki.

Sal lowed the hand he was using to point behind him, to his side as he responded to Nikki's question. "Well, with what goes on at this crazy camp, I say they'll believe it."

"Exactly!" Exclaimed Max as he exaggerated his arms at Sal.

With a chuckle, Sal began to walk toward his deputies. "Take care of yourselves. Okay?" He said.

"We will!" Called out Nikki as she waved bye at Sal. After walking a short distance, Sal suddenly stopped and turned back toward the group. "Oh, and kids? Don't you do any more of your crazy antics that will force me to come out here understand?" He warned.

Nikki lowered the hand she was using to wave at Sal as she called back. "No promises!"

As Sal turned back, he shook his head before continuing to walk toward his deputies.

"...Where do you guys think Daniel disappeared to?" Nikki asked her friends.

Max stuffed his hands back inside his kangaroo hoodie pocket before he gave Nikki a response. "Who the fuck knows.." the ten-year-old suddenly made a small smirk; "maybe he disappeared to Hell," he joked, unbeknownst to him and the others, that's where Daniel was.

"Yeah right," scoffed Neil; "but wherever Daniel is, hopefully, we'll never have to see him again,"

Gwen slowly brought her gaze from the camp trio to the departing cop cars as she responded to Neil's statement in a somewhat quiet manner. "...For some reason, I have a feeling we won't."


	17. Seal of the Covenant

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 17▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

It had been a few weeks since the whole Daniel situation, and David was finally coming back from the hospital today; everyone was standing by the Mess Hall as they waited for him.

"Oooh, I wonder if David got any scars when he was in the hospital," Nikki wondered aloud as she slightly jumped up and down; "that would be so cool if he did!" She exclaimed.

Everyone ignored Nikki when they saw Sal's police cruiser drive up the camp's dirt driveway and stop with its engine running; David soon exited the passenger's side.

"Thank you for the ride, Sal." Thanked David before he gently shut Sal's car door.

As Sal backed out of the camp's driveway and drove off, David walked up toward the group.

"Thank fucking God, you're okay, David." Said a relieved Gwen.

David just gave Gwen a small smile.

Suddenly the Camp Camp mobile came up the dirt driveway and screeched to a stop, but not before hitting David, causing him to produce a high-pitched scream as he fell to the ground.

"...Guess I spoke too soon," Said Gwen.

"Do we need to take David back to the hospital?" Asked Nikki.

David slowly got up from where he was with one of his hands on his side while the other hand was on his head. "N-no I-I'm okay." He reassured everyone before lowering his arms to his side.

When everyone turned toward the Camp Camp mobile, Mr. Campbell stepped out.

"I heard about that Daniel guy mysteriously disappearing into thin air through the paper, so I figured it was safe to come back." Explained Mr. Campell; "So how was everything?" He asked.

Gwen looked at Mr. Campbell with irritation as she put her hands to her hips. "Well, no thanks to you, David had to be put in the hospital for _weeks_ after Daniel beat the living shit out of him."

Mr. Campbell turned toward David before walking up to him and putting a hand to one of his shoulders. "Sorry to hear about that, David, but look on the bright side..at least it wasn't me."

"...Where the fuck have you been anyway, Campbell?" Asked Max.

Mr. Campbell removed his hand from David's shoulder and turned toward where he heard Max's voice before pulling out a bag of cash. "While I was away, I hit every casino in sight!" he told the camper; "Now if you'll excuse me," Mr. Campbell then shook at his bag of money; "I'm going to go put this away." with that, he headed inside the Mess Hall to put his money away in his room.

After everyone watched Mr. Campbell go inside the Mess Hall, Gwen spoke up. "All right kids, let's head over to the Activities Field for today's camp activity,"

As most of the Campbell campers started to walk off towards the Activities Field, Gwen walked up to David. "Why don't you take it easy for the day, David, I can handle the kids." She said.

David gazed at his co-counselor with slight concern. "Are you sure?" He asked.

Gwen gave David a single nod. "After what Daniel did to you, you need some time to yourself."

David gazed at Gwen in silence for a brief moment before giving her a soft smile. "Okay then,"

As Gwen smiled at David before walking toward the Activities Field, David started to head toward the Counselors' Cabin, but Max suddenly called out to him. "David?"

The auburn-haired counselor stopped in his tracks and turned toward Max. "What is it, Max?"

The cynical ten-year-old shifted on his feet with his head down for a few seconds, before he gazed up at the twenty-four-year-old camp counselor, and abruptly sprinted up to him to hug him; this hug was much longer than the one Max gave David on Parents' Day.

David was at a lost for words due to being completely taken aback by Max's action.

"I..I'm glad you're okay," Mumbled Max.

Even though Max mumbled out his sentence, David heard it crystal clear. "Aww, Max." He cooed.

Max suddenly broke the hug and stared up at David with a death glare. "If you breathe a word about this to _anyone_, I'll fucking kill you myself, understand?" He threatened David.

Despite the threat, David gazed down at Max with a warm smile. "Okay, Max," He promised.

With that, Max ran toward the Activities Field to join the group; David watched Max runoff for a few seconds before he headed inside the Counselors' Cabin.

When David closed the door behind him, he undid his yellow bandana and pulled down the neckline of his Camp Campbell shirt to reveal the Hell Girl fire symbol on his chest.

David discovered the mark when he was staying at the hospital; when the hospital staff asked David about the symbol on his chest, he lied and said he got it in his teen years.

The auburn-haired man knew that this mark symbolized his future damnation, and of course, he was scared when the day will come, but it was worth it to keep Max safe.

Did David regret sending Daniel to Hell? David was sorry he had to, but he didn't regret it.

After David released the neckline of his Camp Campbell shirt and tied his bandana back on his neck, he headed toward his bed to rest.


	18. Epilogue

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎Chapter 18▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

In the realm of eternal Twilight, Wanyuudou, Hone-Onna, and Ichimoku Ren were standing outside their small house while Ai was sitting on the edge of the porch floor.

"I..can not stop thinking about that man, David." Said Hone-Onna.

"...Me neither," said Wanyuudou; "he truly is a good man," Wanyuudou then made a soft raspy chuckle; "a little too good-natured if you ask me."

Ichimoku Ren crossed his arms as he spoke. "It's a shame he'll one day meet his damnation."

Wanyuudou made a single nod. "Indeed it is,"

After a few moments of silence, Hone-Onna spoke up. "I wonder what will become of that boy."

Ichimoku Ren turned to Hone Onna. "You mean..._Max?_" He asked.

Hone-Onna nodded as she looked over the horizon. "When that dysfunctional summer camp comes to an end, is he just going to return to his neglectful home life?" She asked.

After pondering for a bit, Wanyuudou spoke up. "Maybe that David fellow will adopt him." Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna turned toward Wanyuudou.

"Eh? Do you think that will happen?" Asked Hone-Onna.

"Even though he's practically a little Devil?" Asked Ichimoku Ren.

Wanyuudou smiled; mostly to himself. "I'm certain of it, despite how the boy acts, that man cares deeply for him, and he wouldn't just let him go back to a home where he's unloved."

Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna nodded in agreement.

Ichimoku Ren suddenly gazed down at Ai. "I've been wondering, miss, why did you reject David's offer to return the straw doll to you?" He asked.

Ai didn't say a word as she continued into stare in space.

"Was it because you somehow knew that he would need it at the end?" Ichimoku Ren asked even though he knew that he most likely wasn't going to get a response.

Wanyuudou suddenly joined in the late conversation after silence filled the air for a few seconds. "If that was the case mistress, I'm glad you didn't accept his offer."

"Eh? Why's that?" Asked Hone-Onna.

Wanyuudou turned to face Hone-Onna as he explained. "..Because I don't think he would've been able to live with himself if he failed to protect that boy."

"..Oh," Replied Hone-Onna.

Wanyuudou then turned away from Hone-Onna to gaze at the horizon. "I'd hate for that young man to live the rest of his life in anguish," he added; "he doesn't deserve that."

All of a sudden, inside Ai's house, her computer screen lit up in bright crimson red.

"Ai, you have a new message," Called out Ai's grandma.

After sitting in silence for a few seconds more, Ai called out to her grandma. "I'll be right there,"

•°◇°•◇•°◇°•

In a black void with millions of candles, a new candle with David's name written in Japanese characters slowly joined the other candles as it was being lit up by a flame.

**_"Your grievance shall be avenged." _**


End file.
